Safe Haven
by nightshade938
Summary: The originals are back in town. And Damon is not a happy camper. But he has to learn to share. Because Mystic Falls might be the only place left to call home. Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

_**SAFE HAVEN**_

_**Chapter1: Arrival**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the vampire diaries. They belong to L.J Smith and the C.W.**_

_**Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

Damon glanced at his watch. He had 17 minutes before he had to go pick Stefan from school. Stefan had destroyed his car two weeks ago when in a show of hormonal teenage anger at Damon; he had crashed into a tree. After Damon made sure he was okay, he tore into him pretty good. He was not going to forget that soon, seeing as he couldn't sit comfortably for days afterward. He watched the time again. _Time to go pick up the baby_. He wondered how long before Stefan's car was ready to be driven again and asked himself if it wasn't easier to just get him a new one. They did have loads of money after all.

He found a parking spot and waited. There's Matt, and Caroline, that's Jeremy and…. Yes, there's Stefan. With Elena of course. After a whole ten minutes of watching Stefan say goodbye to Elena, his brother finally got in the car. Seriously, _ten minutes_. As if they won't see each other the very next day. _Teenagers!_ Stefan turned and put on the seat belt.

"Hi" Stefan greeted

"Do you really need ten minutes to say goodbye when you'll see her tomorrow? I don't have all day, you know" Damon shot back

"You could get me another car and spare yourself the trouble" Stefan said innocently

"Not gonna happen little brother" Damon said. Never mind that he was thinking the same thing a couple of minutes ago. Stefan took out his phone and started texting. "How was school today?" Damon asked "Anything happen?"

"Why do you keep asking this question when Ric eventually tells you if anything of interest comes up? It's annoying" Stefan retorted

Anger flashed in Damon's eyes. "Wanna run that by me again?"

"No sir. Nothing happened" Stefan said, subdued

"What are you doing?"

"Texting Elena"

"Really? You saw her like five minutes ago. What do you have to say to her now?"

"We're discussing Kol. Elijah enrolled him in school today"

Damon slammed on the brakes as the car screeched to a halt. "What!"

"Damon, watch it" Stefan screamed as they narrowly avoided a ditch.

"What is Kol doing in Mystic Falls?"

"Elijah enrolled him in Mystic High"

"Eli….. They're back? What do they want now?" he turned to Stefan, eyes blazing. "I thought you said nothing of interest happened in school today"

Stefan scooted back in his seat. "S-Sorry. Must have slipped my mind" he stammered out

"Did you see Klaus and Rebekah? Was she in school too?"

"No. I only saw Elijah and Kol. He came to pick him up too. They drove off just minutes before I got in the car"

Damon pulled into their driveway. "Get inside and stay there. I need to call Ric and find out what these Mikaelsons are up to" Stefan opened the door and stepped into the house and froze.

"Uhh, Damon. You should get in here. Now"

Damon entered the room and gazed at the sight before him. The Mikaelson family, minus Rebekah, sat in his living room.

"Hello Damon, Stefan"

* * *

_Here's my new story. For this story, the teenagers are still in high school and Kol is not dead. I'll try and update soon. Reviews are welcome._


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: Warning**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to L.J. Smith and the C.W.**_

_**Warning: Will contain spanking of teenagers.**_

* * *

"What the hell are you doing in my house? I don't remember you being welcome here" Damon quipped

"Nice to see you too Damon" Klaus said

"We need to talk" Elijah announced

"Yeah? Well I don't want to talk to you. So get out of my house"

"It's important" Elijah said

"A matter of life and death" Klaus added

"Ok. Let's hear it then"

"Not with him here" Elijah gestured towards Stefan." We need to talk to you alone"

"Stefan, go to your room. And put on some music. We don't want you eavesdropping" Damon ordered

"Why does he get to stay and I have to leave. That's not fair" Stefan said, eyeing Kol

"Stefan…" Damon said in warning

"I could go hang out with matt and Tyler if you want" Stefan ventured

"Nice try. You're still grounded. Do as I say and go to your room. Now"

Stefan looked like he was about to argue further but a look from Damon that promised swift retribution made him shut up and go up to his room, muttering darkly. _"Why does he always treat me like a child? Go to your room. Seriously. Like I'm five freaking years old"_

* * *

_Back in the living room_

"Grounded?" Elijah asked with a raise of his eyebrows. "What did he do?"

"Long story. What did you want to talk about?"

"I came to warn you" Elijah started

"And here I was thinking we were going to let bygones be bygones and be one big happy family and have picnics every Saturday. What? You came to warn me to stay out of your business and 'what we do in this town is our problem and don't meddle in our affairs?' How cliché!"

Klaus growled and looked murderously at Damon. Elijah sighed. "Niklaus, calm down". He huffed and sat back in the chair.

The action didn't go unnoticed by D. "You're obeying Elijah's every word now? You didn't bother before. And why is Kol so reserved and quiet? Haven't heard a peep out of him. And where is little Jezebel?"

This time Elijah couldn't stop Klaus as he pounced on Damon and started to choke him. "Don't you call my sister names" he snarled at Damon. Elijah managed to pull them apart after some struggling. Damn, they were strong.

"Rebekah is dead, Damon. A witch killed her in France. It's just me and Niklaus and Kol now. We came back to the Falls because its one of the few safe places I could think of left for our kind"

"Our kind? What do you mean our kind?"

"Vampires, Damon, vampires. We are being hunted down"

"We are hunted daily but we've lived this long. Why are you worried about this time?"

"Because this time its not normal hunters who are hunting us. Its witches. Some of Esther's followers believe that we are abominations and are continuing her good work of hunting and killing us all"

Realization dawned on Damon's face. "So they came after you. You know first vampires and all that. That's why you're here. You're running"

"Looks like you're catching on mate" Klaus interrupted. "But they don't want just us. They want every individual vampire to feel the pain and agony our victims and their families go through when we take lives for food. Killing one of the originals would just ensure the death of their entire bloodline. But that is too easy"

"They plan to torture us? Sadistic bitches" Damon said

"They don't plan to. It's already started. We already lost Rebekah. I don't plan on loosing Niklaus or Kol. And I assume you don't want to lose Stefan either. You need to watch your back Damon. Its not safe for us anymore. This is what I came to warn you about" he looked at his watch. "It's late. We have to be leaving. Kol has school tomorrow and his bedtime's almost due"

"Elijah…." Kol whined, his face reddening in embarrassment. "It's barely dark"

"Its past nine, Kol" Klaus teased

"Shut up Nik" Kol returned

Damon looked on amused at Kol's and Klaus' antics. They almost looked like a normal American family. Overprotective oldest brother and annoying older brother. "Where are you staying" he asked

"At a hotel in town" Elijah answered. Rebekah burned the mansion down. She said we wouldn't need it since we won't come back to this town" he chuckled. "Small world. Come on Kol. We have to go"

"Why don't you stay here?" Damon blurted out to the shock of his guests. He himself was shocked. _What made him say that?_

"Are you sure?" Elijah asked

"Did you hit your head somewhere, love? You are actually inviting me to live in your house?" Klaus said

"Actually, I'm inviting your brother. You are just a plus one. Seeing as how he loves his suits and grooming, I thought he would prefer the boarding house bathrooms to that of the hotel. The water there is laced with vervain" Damon said. "And he can keep a better eye on Kol" he added quickly

"Hey…" Kol whined

"I think that's pretty reasonable. Though I might add, I can keep an eye on Kol anywhere"

"Do you have any luggage?" Damon asked

"No. we left in a hurry. We'll go shopping tomorrow"

"Let me show you to your rooms then"

After getting the brothers settled in and listening to Elijah set rules for Kol and even Klaus, Damon could finally go to bed. It was almost midnight. They had spent the better part of the evening talking. Just when he was beginning to think everything was back to normal this had to happen. Witches. How he hated them. Except maybe the Bennett witch. He made a mental note to call Bonnie. See what she can do about all this.

He stopped by Stefan's room to check on him. The music was still playing as Stefan lay curled up in the middle of the bed, sleeping peacefully. A half-finished history assignment and a couple of history books lay open on the bed. Damon snorted. _If only Ric could see how devoted you were._ In his anger at being dismissed earlier, Stefan hadn't changed out of his clothes and was now sleeping fully dressed. Damon took off his shoes and jeans and pulled the sheets over him. He smiled fondly at his slumbering baby brother and kissed his head. As he was leaving he made a silent promise,

"_I'll keep you safe little brother. I won't let anything happen to you"_

* * *

_Here's chapter two as promised. I'll try to update quickly but I have school and boring classes to look forward to so I'll do my best. Oh... and please review._


	3. Chapter 3

_**KITCHEN AFFAIRS**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They belong to L.J Smith and the C.W.**_

_**Warning: Contains spanking of teenagers in later chapters**_

* * *

The bright morning sun filtered in through the window and fell on Damon's face. He groaned and buried his face under the pillow. Time to face the day and deal with Mystic Falls problems. Speaking of problems, he ought to be remembering something. Something important. New witch, originals, Stefan, ORIGINALS!_ Oh shit_. Stefan didn't know they were staying here. He jumped out of bed and put on a shirt. He blurred down the stairs into the living room.

"Morning princess. Elijah made breakfast" Klaus greeted. He was eating at the island and Elijah was stirring something.

"Where's Stefan?"

"Still sleeping, I think. He hasn't come down yet" Elijah answered

_Thank God_, he breathed. Now he had time to prepare him to the sight of an original _cooking_ in their kitchen. He opened his mouth to ask something else.

"Kol's taking a shower. He should be down soon" Elijah said. He raised an eyebrow at Damon. "You were going to ask"

"No I wasn't"

"Yes you were mate. Shouldn't Stefan be up now? Or he doesn't have school?" Klaus drawled, smirking at Damon

"Niklaus, stop teasing and hurry up. We have to go into town soon"

"You should listen to your brother and eat up. He can't stop at every minimart to pick up donuts. He's a busy man" Damon smirked back

Elijah smiled into his cup at Klaus' scowling face. "Come on Niklaus, go get Kol. We have to leave soon"

_Maybe he should wake Stefan now so he'll see them before school_, Damon mused. Then he wouldn't freak out later. Yes that would be a good idea. He run to Stefan's room. He was still sound asleep. He shook his shoulder. "Stefan wake up". Stefan mumbled something unintelligible and sunk further into the pillows. "Come on Stef, get up"

"Mmmmm, Damon go away"

"Get up. You have to get ready for school"

"What time is it?"

"'Bout a quarter to seven"

"It's too early to be up"

"Come on. I gotta show you something. And being early to school is not so bad" Damon got up from the bed and made his way to the door. "Breakfast in 10 minutes. Be ready" he threw over his shoulder

When Damon got back downstairs, Kol was eating at the table. He didn't even look up when he entered. Now Damon didn't like Kol. The boy was too crazy for his own good. But seeing him like this, so quiet, it unnerved him. Kol and quiet didn't go together. His sister's death affected him more than he was letting on.

"Hey" he said to Elijah as he walked in. Kol didn't look up. "How is he?" he asked Elijah, taking a seat

"You do know that I'm right here, right? And I'm fine. Not that it's any of your business" Kol retorted

"Kol…." Elijah warned

"What, 'Lijah, what? I'm tired of people walking on eggshells around me. You and Nik I can deal with. But he, no. Treating me like I'm some kind of fragile toy that would break into tiny pieces if the wrong thing is said. Rebekah's dead. Gone. She's not coming back and I know that. So quit treating me like I'm a friggin child" he ranted, smashing a mug against the wall and storming off in anger. Except he didn't get past the kitchen door because someone was blocking it.

Stefan

_Oh crap_, Damon thought.

* * *

_Sorry this chapter is short. I'll update soon with a longer one. Please review_


	4. Chapter 4

_**The fight**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the vampire diaries. They belong to L.J. Smith and the C.W.**_

_**Warning: Spanking in this chapter**_

* * *

Everything started happening at once. Stefan slammed Kol into the wall and started choking him. Kol was caught by surprise for a second, gifting Stefan the upper hand. That changed a second later when Kol got his wits about him and the roles were reversed. Now he had Stefan against the wall in a chokehold. Stefan wouldn't give up though as he pushed Kol back with all of his might. Kol went flying across the room into one of the many chairs in the living room, which broke on impact. Elijah and Damon tried to pry them apart but it wasn't easy. They were too damn fast. Kol's bruised face and Stefan's broken arm later, they finally succeeded in separating them. Elijah dragged Kol up the stairs to their bathroom as Damon was left with a breathless and fuming Stefan.

"What the hell are they doing here, Damon?"

"They're staying for a while"

"What! Why didn't you tell me?"

"First of all, don't shout at me. You might be hurt but doesn't give you a free pass to disrespect me. I can still beat your ass" Stefan dropped his eyes and calmed down a bit. His brother was not bluffing. He WOULD punish him if he disrespected him. His arm was hurting enough. He couldn't handle pain on another part of his anatomy. "And secondly, I don't answer to you" Damon continued. He got a good look at his baby brother. "How is your arm" he asked

"Its fine" Stefan shot back

"Stefan…." Damon said in a warning tone

"I-It hurts a b-bit" he stammered

Damon raised his eyebrow at him

"A lot. It hurts a lot" he admitted

"Let me see" Damon said as he lifted Stefan from the ground and deposited him on the couch, which made Stefan wince.

"It's okay. It'll heal" Stefan didn't think he could take the pain of Damon resetting the bone. And that was exactly what Damon was going to do. Damon sighed and pulled Stefan to him. Stefan kicked and struggled to get out of his grasp.

"Stefan, stay still. I can't reset the bone if you keep moving" Stefan paid no heed and just doubled his efforts. It wasn't the first time he had broken a bone and it hurt every time when Damon had to set it. He wasn't just going to lie there and take it.

"What did I miss?"

TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD-TVD

Damon thanked whatever power had sent Klaus downstairs.

"Hold him down for me" he demanded

"What happened here? Where are Elijah and Kol? And why is Stefan's arm broken?" Klaus ranted

"I don't have time to play twenty questions now. Just hold him down" Damon snapped. Klaus dodged Stefan's flailing legs and managed to get a hold of him and pin him down. Stefan looked at Damon from his upside-down position, eyes watery and pleading, and shook his head vigorously.

"No. Don't. Please. It'll heal. It'll heal"

"I'm sorry Stefan but your healing's delayed. It will hurt a lot before it starts to heal". He looked up at Klaus as Stefan continued to shake his head. "You ready?" He nodded.

Damon took Stefan's arm. Luckily it was a clean break. He just needed to shift them into position and they'll start to heal. In one swift move, he returned the bones to their original positions. Stefan screamed loudly. Tears coursed down his cheeks as he sobbed out his pain. Damon pulled him up by his good arm and held him as Stefan cried into his chest.

"I'm sorry I had to do that. But it won't hurt anymore in a little while"

"It hurts" Stefan sniffled

"I know. I'm sorry" Damon comforted his distraught brother

Klaus looked on at the scene before him. He didn't know how to describe it. He had never seen this side of the eldest Salvatore. He did love his brother. Well he knew that already, he just hadn't seen them interract so intimately before. He shifted awkwardly. It felt wrong to be here. It was like he was intruding. He opened his mouth to make an excuse to leave but was stopped when he heard a loud smack, followed by Kol yelping.

"I…Uhh…. I'm gonna go upstairs. Check on Kol" he hastily provided. _What a lame excuse_, he lamented. _Check on Kol._ Damon only nodded, not wanting to disturb the dozing boy in his arms.

Klaus raced to Elijah's room. Kol was over Elijah's lap crying and begging. His jeans were still on but Klaus knew they were no help. Elijah had a hard hand. He wondered what Kol had done so early in the morning to warrant a trip over Elijah's knee. _Must have something to do with the wrecked living room downstairs and Stefan's broken arm_.

"Please 'Lijah. Please stop. I'll be good, I swear. It hurts. Please stop" Kol begged

"I don't like doing this Kol, you know that. But the disrespect has gone too far. Throwing tantrums? Breaking dishes? You claim you're not a child and shouldn't be treated as one but that was very childish of you. We know you're hurting, Kol. We all are. Rebekah was our sister too. But we don't go around breaking things. You need to rein yourself in or next time we're in this position it'll be my belt and your bare backside, got it?" Elijah lectured

Kol was sobbing too hard and could only nod his head.

"Good" Elijah said and finally stopped. Kol slid off his lap and rubbed vigorously at his bottom. Elijah pulled him into his arms and hugged him. He put Kol in bed. "Catch up on some sleep. Niklaus and I would go into town"

"O-Ok"

* * *

_Thank you for the reviews everyone. It's greatly appreciated. I'll try to update soon._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5: All hands on board**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the vampire diaries. They belong to L.J Smith and the C.W.**_

_**Warning: Contains spanking**_

* * *

Damon sighed and took out his phone. He dialed a number and waited for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Yes?"

"Hey Ric. Stefan can't come to school today. He's sick"

"We both know that is not true. What's really going on?"

"The originals are staying with us. Stefan saw them this morning. He threw a fit. His arm got broken and now he can't come to school" Damon recited

"Wh-What?"

"Look Ric why don't you drop by after school and yell at me? I have to go check on Stefan"

"Ok. See you after school. And there better be a damn good explanation"

"There is. I promise. Bring everyone"

"Ok"

Damon hung up. He decided to get some rest before the others showed up. He lay on Stefan's bed and crossed his legs and leaned against the headboard. He was woken by the sounds of Klaus and Elijah coming back. Klaus was complaining about how many 'bloody' bags he had to carry and why they had to buy so many 'bloody' things. He went downstairs to see Klaus trying to balance too many shopping bags and climbing the stairs at the same time.

"Hey" Damon greeted Elijah "Need a hand?" he offered

"No thank you. We have all the help we need" Elijah said. It was then that Damon heard Ric and Tyler and Matt grumbling about just how much items one person needed. He smirked.

"Don't worry Damon. We have everything under control and don't need your help at all" Alaric said sarcastically

"I know Ric" Damon said as he turned back into the house

"Dick" Alaric said under his breath

"I heard that" Damon shouted

"Good" Alaric shouted back

After a couple of minutes, everyone was seated.

"Ric, I said everyone" Damon said

"They'll be here. Be patient. They're ladies". A car pulled into the driveway. "And that's them". Elena, Caroline and Bonnie walked in. After a glare in Klaus' direction, they also sat down.

"Why is your mom here, Caroline?" Damon asked

"Alaric said everyone" Caroline responded. Another car pulled up.

"Now what?"

"I called Mason' Tyler said. At the glare thrown his way, he said "Everybody". Mason walked in, followed by Liz Forbes and Mayor Lockwood.

"You called your mom too?"

Tyler shrugged

"What does it matter? They're already here. Now tell us what this emergency meeting is all about" Alaric said

"Ok. But first Tyler, can you get Stefan? He's in his room. Klaus would get Kol" Damon stated. "I think Elijah should tell you himself"

Stefan and Kol both came down looking bleary eyed and in Kol's case, exhausted_. Seriously, if they slept any longer, they'd be dead_, Damon huffed. Stefan's arm was in a sling. Damon handed him a glass of blood, which no one knew how it appeared in his hands. Kol sat beside Elijah and promptly went back to sleep. Elijah chuckled, amused. Klaus had a chair to himself, which he curled up in. Elijah cleared his throat.

"Rebekah is dead" he begun. 'A witch killed her in France. They were after us so we left and came here to warn the supernatural population of Mystic Falls. The witch was part of a coven who believe that we are abominations of nature and are aiming to wipe us out. For now, I only know that they came after vampires. They might be after werewolves too. That I don't know. But it wouldn't hurt to be safe". He paused. "They are Esther's followers" he added

"Your mother? Man, she hunts you even in death" Alaric said

"How many witches are we talking about?" Mason asked

"I know of two. There may be more. And they have vampires with them" Elijah answered

"Isn't that hypocritical? Them trying to wipe you off with your own species?" Matt asked

"All witches are hypocrites, Matt" Damon said. Bonnie cleared her throat. Damon rolled his eyes. "**Most of them** are hypocrites" he corrected. His day had been anything but good. Getting on Bonnie's bad side and winning an aneurism was not on his to-do list.

"Oh my God. He looks adorable" Caroline squealed

"What are you babbling about, Blondie?" Damon asked, annoyed. Leave it to Caroline to say something like adorable when there were psycho witches after them.

"It's Klaus. He's sleeping. I've never seen him sleep. He's positively cute". They turned to see where Klaus was sitting. He was curled up in the chair snoozing peacefully. "I'm taking pictures" she announced. After several clicks, she turned round. "Look at this. Aren't they so….."

"Adorable…..cute" everyone said at once."We know Blondie. Now can we get back to the issue at hand? You can swoon over those pictures later" Damon said. Caroline huffed but she sat down.

"They'll find us" Elijah continued. "Eventually. But until then we'll be safe here for a while"

"Then what? Run again?" Damon asked

"We might not have a choice" Elijah said. "Best to keep the bags packed"

Damon looked at Bonnie. "Oh. Yes. Uhh. I found something in Emily's books. A spell. It prevents someone from entering someplace unless the owner's allowed it. It's like the barrier that prevents vampires from entering an uninvited house. But I can't cast it on the town. It's too big an area"

"A spell? I thought we were hearing this for the first time. How come you already have a spell?" Mayor Lockwood asked

"Damon called me earlier" bonnie answered

"I have an idea" Stefan said. "Cast it on the house. Can you do that?"

"I think so, yeah. But it'll only protect you in the house and on the property. Outside that you're vulnerable" she gasped. "Elijah, you said they had vampires with them, right?" Elijah nodded. "Vampires can't enter a house owned by a human unless they're invited"

"We all know that Bonnie. Even little Gilbert knows. It's the first lesson in vampire 101, right after avoid the sun. So get to the point" Damon said impatiently

"That is the point" Bonnie returned, annoyed. "Vampires can't enter a house owned by a human unless they're invited. I can create a barrier over the house to prevent a vampire from coming close, even though the house is not owned by a human"

"If you spell my house to prevent vampires from entering whether it's owned by a human or vampire, won't I be stuck outside if I leave the house?" Damon asked

"It's a spell I'm modifying. There's no actual spell to keep vampires out of homes except the invitation barrier on houses owned by humans. But I can make it work. And for that I need your blood." At the glare she received from Damon, she added "Just drops of it. Then you can come and go as you want. It's like being invited in" she ended

"How many rooms are there?" the Sherriff asked. She received questioning looks from everyone. "I'm assuming this is going to be some kind of safe house since this is the house Bonnie's going to spell. That means at a point in time you'll all be staying here. So how many rooms are there?"

"Nine" Damon answered. "Stefan and I and the originals have one each. Mason, Tyler and Caroline would take three of the remaining four. That leaves a spare"

"I'll stay. Can't have Caroline being the only girl around here" Bonnie said

"Ok. Now that that's settled, Bonnie can you start your business?"

A branch snapped outside and the vampires and wolves all turned toward the door. Stefan shot out of his seat and rushed out the door. "No. Stefan. Don't. Come back here" Damon shouted at him before following him out the door. He run through the trees after his brother and almost crashed into his crouching form.

"He's gone. I think he was listening. You think he's one of the vampires Elijah said were with the witches?" Stefan asked

"I don't know" Damon answered. He looked Stefan over. "Are you okay? I told you to wait. Why did you go charging after him?"

"I'm fine. And I thought I could catch up to him"

"Come on. Let's go home" Damon said as he pushed Stefan ahead of him.

* * *

He smiled darkly from his position in the tree he was hiding in. He may have just found a weak point of these vampires. The young one would be of great help and he had gathered enough information. His mistress would be pleased.

* * *

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It was sweet of you guys. I'll try to update soon._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: The vampire diaries belong to the C.W**_

_**Warning: Contains spanking**_

* * *

He walked up to the house. It looked abandoned from outside with leaves scattered about. It was the perfect place to stay unnoticed and it was just outside Mystic Falls.

"What did you find out?"

The vampire was not startled. He had heard her approach. "They have a witch. I didn't see her but she sounded young. I heard at least six voices. They are going to put a barrier on the house. Vampires can't get in but witches can"

"They plan to trap us when we go in. Silly vamps. Always underestimating witches. They think they can take us. Anything else?"

"There were humans. I don't know how many but they knew about the vampires and werewolves"

"This is Mystic Falls. Of course they knew. They won't be a problem" she said. "They are not to be touched though. We don't harm humans. Not even those who ally themselves with monsters" she turned to leave

"There was a boy. A vampire. He came after me. And then another vampire came after him. He seemed very protective of the boy" he added

"Is that so?" she asked with a glint in her eyes, turning back to him. She seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I think I just found a way to announce our arrival. You did very well Jason. I'll go and tell my sisters what you have found out" she dismissed him

She walked into another room of the abandoned house. There were two others in the room, a woman and a teenage girl. They both turned around when she entered. "Jason has returned with information. The monsters in Mystic Falls are expecting us. They are preparing for our arrival"

"What do we do now?" the girl asked

"Let them know we're here"

* * *

"Bonnie, relax. And stop looking around so much. You're starting to look weird"

"I don't know Elena. I have this feeling. Do you remember when Damon and Stefan were going to kill Katherine at that ball? You know that feeling of power I felt that led me to the other witch? This is something like that"

"You think there's a witch in the school?"

"I don't know. But I'll keep an eye out" Bonnie said as they entered their next class.

The girl watched them as they came in. The power radiating off them was strong. But only one of them could be the witch. She would figure it out by the end of the day and then she would be done with this school. The teacher's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Open your books to page 63" he announced. She tuned him out as he droned on and on. She had spotted the vampire. She made him get to class late so the teacher would call out his name. Stefan Salvatore. She smiled evilly. Let the games begin.

* * *

Stefan shifted in his seat again. He didn't feel good. He couldn't be sick, he was a vampire. But there was something strange going on with him. He put his head down on the table and immediately heard the teacher shout his name.

"Mr. Salvatore do you need to see the nurse? Because unless you're sick I don't appreciate you laying your head on the table"

"Sorry, Mr. Wesley. It's just... I feel strange"

"You feel strange. Is that a new way of saying you don't feel well or you're sick?"

"No. I'm not sick. I can't be sick. I don't get sick" Stefan ranted. It wasn't sickness, although he felt miserable right now. It had to be something else.

"Uh-huh. Are you alright, Mr. Salvatore? You don't look so good"

It was true. Sweat had begun to form on Stefan's forehead and he felt like he was going to pass out. He suddenly felt nauseous. He jumped out of his chair, knocking it over, and with a hasty 'I have to use the bathroom' rushed out the door. He had enough awareness left in him to not use his vampire speed though as he slammed the door behind him and left the rest of the class baffled. Caroline looked questioningly at Bonnie and Elena, who shrugged and shook their head respectively. Kol had shared the same look wit Tyler and Matt, with almost the same results. They didn't have time to deliberate though as at that exact time the fire alarm went off.

* * *

There was a bustle of activity as the students were ushered outside. Sirens could be heard in the distance as the fire engine and police cars drove to the school. This was no drill. There was an actual fire and it had caused all the excitement. The atmosphere was thick with smoke. Mystic Falls was a small town and news spread fast so it was no surprise when worried parents started arriving at the school. Amidst all the hugs and kisses between parents and their wards, Alaric looked around for the gang. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Elijah and Mason Kol and Tyler towards their cars respectively. Two down, five to go.

There was Klaus with Caroline. Alaric rolled his eyes. _Of course he was with her._ Bonnie and Elena were beside Bonnie's car. Matt was with them. Good. He looked around frantically for Jeremy. The last of the students had been led out by now. There was no one else in the building. But where was Jeremy? Alaric was beginning to panic. Was he by any chance still stuck in the school? A tap on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts a he whirled round to meet Elijah's calm face. "Have you seen Jeremy?"

"He's with Kol" Elijah answered "Do you know what happened?"

"No. I'm going to ask Sherriff Forbes" Alaric said as he walked towards the police cars. Elijah started to follow him and then stopped abruptly. He looked up at the burning building. Alaric also stopped when he didn't hear Elijah behind him any longer. "What is it?" he asked

"I thought I heard something" Elijah started but was interrupted when Elena suddenly run over.

"Have you seen Stefan? I can't find him anywhere" she asked, looking around worriedly. Alaric looked around too. Now that Elena has mentioned it, he hadn't seen the boy when he had done the mental headcount.

"When was the last time you saw him?" he asked Elena

"In math. Just before the fire alarm went off. He said he felt strange and rushed out to the….." she paused as she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach "bathroom" she ended. She turned back slowly to look at the burning building. "He's not still in the school, right?" she asked no one in particular.

Alaric paled as Elijah tensed. He had heard the sound again. Someone was in the building. It must have showed on his face as realization dawned on Elena and she clasped her hand over her mouth.

"Oh my God! Stefan is still inside there"

* * *

_I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I'll try and update more quickly. I posted a new story, shackled. Please review and let me know how you want me to proceed._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to L.J Smith and the C.W**_

_**Warning: May contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

The girl smiled as she watched the fire. The fire she had created. This was so worth the boring day of high school she had to endure. If things went well she would even have killed one of the vampires. There was no better way to announce their arrival.

* * *

Elijah was keeping an eye out for the eldest Salvatore while Alaric tried to get Stefan out of the burning building. He had no idea how the teacher planned on doing that. The fire was too much for even the firemen to try going inside. He would have preferred doing something about the burning school and the boy in it to scouting around for Damon, though it was a good idea that he was the one looking around for the hot-headed boy. Because if Damon arrived while Stefan was still in the building, Elijah's strength would be needed to restrain him. He was positive that was the reason why Alaric made him stay. No one wanted to be around when Damon got there.

Elena had gone to get Bonnie. See if she could do something to bring the fire down. They hadn't wanted Bonnie meddling but now one of their own was in there and they didn't give a damn about prying eyes.

"Bonnie, can you bring the fire down? We have to get Stefan out of there before Damon comes" Alaric asked desperately. Elijah hadn't even realized when he had returned. He came back with Sherriff Forbes and she looked worried. She knew Damon well and she knew his brother was one of the few things that kept him tethered. If anything happened to Stefan, she couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do. She just knew it would involve a lot of snapped necks and ripped hearts.

"I tried. But the fire's not ordinary. Something is blocking me. And only one thing can do that"

"A witch" Elijah deadpanned. "They are here. They're in Mystic Falls"

"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. It could be just a coincidence"

"You know this is not a coincidence Bonnie. And if you can't do anything about the fire, then I fear Stefan is doomed, if he's not already" Alaric moaned. "Can you still hear him?" he asked Elijah

"He's not dead" Elijah stated simply. Alaric noticed he didn't say he was fine.

"I didn't say I couldn't do anything. I just said something was blocking me. I can get past it but it would not be pleasant for whoever is responsible" she smiled sardonically

Sherriff Forbes eyed her warily. "Is that the only way Bonnie?"

"No. But it's the most painful. It'll send a message"

"Remind me not to get on your bad side" Liz shuddered

"Nobody messes with my friends" she looked up "Don't tell Damon I said that"

"Don't tell me what?"

* * *

Even Elijah struggled to hold Damon down and stop him from flying into the blazing building. He was strong. Stronger than his years should allow and he was determined. His little brother was in there.

"Let go of me, Elijah. My brother's in that building and I have to get him out. Do you understand?" Damon ranted as he squirmed and struggled in Elijah's arms

"You need to calm yourself Damon. We'll get Stefan out just calm down"

"You'll get him out? All you've been doing is stand around and do nothing while my baby brother is slowly roasting in there. Has your brother ever been stuck in a burning building? No? Well mine is and while you're standing here doing nothing, he is SUFFERING"

"We're not doing nothing, Damon. Bonnie is going to bring the fire down and then we can safely get Stefan out" Alaric said

"Why hasn't she done that already?"

"It's a long story. The short of it is she has to get past the magic that created it"

"Magic? A witch did this?"

Ric nodded. "And Bonnie is going to make whoever it is regret starting the fire"

"You're going to push against their magic. That'll hurt like a bitch"

"I know" Bonnie said, frowning at Damon. She turned towards Elena. "You remember that feeling I had in the hallway? I can still feel it. Whoever is responsible is still here. Look out for someone in pain. That'll be the one" She concentrated on the burning building and chanted under her breath. After a few moments the fire started dwindling. Damon flew out of Elijah's loose hold into the building before anyone could blink.

"Damon, no. Oh crap". Liz looked horrified. She quickly recovered and started barking orders at the firemen, two of whom rushed to the entrance of the school with hoses. Some people had seen Damon ran into the fiery building and were now screaming hysterically. Their screams brought the rest of the gang running over.

"What happened? Why is everyone screaming?" Caroline asked

"Damon ran into the building"

She gasped. "Why would he do that? And when did he get here? Does he have a death wish or something?"

"Or something" Alaric answered. At Caroline's confused expression he continued "Stefan is trapped in there"

"What! How did we not know?" Caroline felt guilty. _How could they have missed Stefan?_

"Guys, shouldn't they be out by now?" Matt asked. "I mean you guys are really fast, right? It's been more than a minute"

"I'm going after him"

"Mr. Saltzman, you're human. If you go in there you'll die" Elijah tried to reason with Alaric

"We can't just stand here and do nothing"

"We are not just standing. We still need to keep an eye out for the witch"

"We got her" Jeremy announced. He walked over with Bonnie, dragging a reluctant looking young girl behind him. She glared at everyone present.

"How did you get her past all those people" Tyler asked

"I put a spell on her. She's temporarily mute. She can't call out to anybody' Bonnie answered

"Niklaus, take Bonnie and the witch home. If Damon comes out and sees her, she's dead" Elijah said to Klaus

"Too late" Kol said as Damon stumbled out of the building with Stefan cradled in his arms. He was doused with water immediately from the firemen at the door as the crowd cheered and clapped. He dropped to his knees with his brother still firmly clutched to his chest. He snarled at the paramedic who tried to take Stefan from his arms. He later learned that Elijah had compelled the frightened woman. Elijah went to calm him down before they drew attention to themselves. Right now the people thought Damon was in shock. Stefan would heal, faster than a human, but the concerned parents and teachers looking on didn't know that. All they saw was a boy rescued from a burning building who had to go to a hospital. He approached Damon slowly.

"You have to let the paramedics take him, Damon. People will talk if he doesn't go to the hospital. We'll compel him out later but he has to be seen in the ambulance" he spoke softly.

Damon looked up at him. "H-he was stuck. I couldn't pick him up. Something held him to the ground. I t-tried. I yanked and yanked. But he wouldn't budge. Then suddenly he was free"

Elijah winced at the almost childlike innocence in Damn's eyes as he looked up at him. He hadn't seen that look in a long time. Not since the days when Henrik looked at him like that. Like he was the answer to every problem. He spoke to Damon as if to a child. "There was a witch, remember? She could have made him stuck so he would burn to death. But you got him out. He'll be fine"

"He's not waking up. He's not moving. Do you think I was too late?"

"He'll be okay, Damon. It's Stefan. He doesn't heal normally. He needs a little time. Give him here. I'll take him" Elijah soothed as he gently pried Stefan from Damon's arms and onto the gurney. The paramedic quickly strapped an oxygen mask to his face and put him in the ambulance. By now, the excitement had died down and with no magic to control the fire, it died down pretty quickly and people started driving away. The fire turned out not to be as bad as it looked even though some parts of the school were destroyed. It would only take a few weeks to fix. Until then school was suspended.

As the adrenaline seeped out of his body, Damon got up on shaky legs and made his way over to where the rest of the gang were huddled together. It was then that he saw the petite girl that Kol was restraining. That had to be the witch. Elijah mentioned a she. Anger flashed in his eyes as he remembered the sight of his baby brother lying still on the floor while a fire blazed around him. He strode angrily over to the witch, who stepped back into Kol's arms. _Good, she should be frightened, _Damon thought. He suddenly clutched his head in pain.

"Bonnie, what are you doing?" he gasped out. Only Bonnie could make his head feel like it was going to explode.

"I know you are angry Damon. But we need her alive. If she's one of the witches Elijah talked about, she'll have information about her coven and she can only talk if she's alive" Bonnie answered. She motioned for Klaus to put the witch in the car. It was only after she was settled in that Bonnie released Damon. "Your brother needs you Damon. You should go to the hospital. We'll be at home". With that, they drove away.

"I'll take you" Elijah volunteered.

"I'm coming too" Alaric said

Elijah made Damon give his keys to Jeremy so he could take his car back to the boarding house. And then they took off for the hospital.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to L.J Smith and the CW**_

_**Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

Damon paced angrily in front of the fireplace. He wanted to talk to the little witch in the cellar. But they wouldn't let him because he was not calm. _Pfft_. Calm. He WAS calm. He was as calm as calm can be. _Dammit_. He threw the glass of bourbon he was holding into the fire.

"Keep that up and you will be shopping for new glasses tomorrow" Klaus quipped. "Besides you'll wake Stefan".

"We won't get any information if we are out here. I should go talk to her"

"We already went through this. You're too angry. If you go in there now, you'll kill her"

"What do you suggest then, Blondie? Torture her with our silence until she comes confessing?"

"No, Elijah would talk to her" Caroline looked at him pointedly. "So sit down. Your constant pacing is making me dizzy"

Damon's retort was held when Elijah came down the stairs, wearing a fresh suit. "Great. You're here. Now we can get some answers. So Agent Elijah, ready to flash your badge and get us some answers? I mean the fancy suit has to count for something, seeing how you kept us waiting to iron out its creases" Damon said, getting angrier with each word until he was practically shouting at the end.

Elijah sighed. "Patience Damon. She's not going anywhere. And a bath doesn't sound so bad. You reek of smoke". He looked at Bonnie "I hope her magic is still suspended. I do not fancy one of those aneurisms you witches are so fond of, thank you very much". When Bonnie nodded yes, he descended the stairs that led to the basement, throwing over his shoulder that he wanted to talk to the girl alone when he felt Damon and Klaus start to follow.

Caroline eyed Damon warily as he stared at Elijah's retreating back. He had agreed too quickly, considering moments ago he wouldn't sit still. He was planning something. Her thoughts were confirmed when Damon jumped up immediately Elijah locked the door.

"What are you planning?"

"Why do you assume I'm planning anything?" Damon asked with an innocent look, which Caroline was not moved by. He huffed. "I'm just getting my laptop"

Caroline's eyes widened in surprise. "You have a laptop? I didn't know you could even use one"

Klaus snickered. "What makes you think he can't use one, love? We may be ancient but we can still get around technology. I'm pretty handy with computers myself"

"You? Handy with computers?"

"I can show you if you want, love. I'll do anything for you"

"Get a room, both of you. I'm not sure we are even talking about computers anymore" Damon muttered. "And Caroline your little boyfriend is not the only one who is 'handy' with computers. I can do stuff too. I was bored enough to go to MIT once"

Caroline's eyebrows shot up as she interrupted, "MIT? You went to college? What, you snacked on some sorority girls and compelled yourself a degree?"

"Yes to all that. But to my credit I did mange a year of school"

Caroline raised her hands in surrender. "You know what? I don't want to know. So, what do you need the laptop for?"

Damon smirked. "I put a camera in there. I can access it and we'll be able to see Elijah and our little witch". He started punching in some keys as Caroline gasped.

"You put a camera in there? You're a vampire. You have perfect vision in the dark and you can see from miles away. What do you need a hidden camera to do that your abilities can't?"

"You remember when Stefan had his little problem with human blood? Well I couldn't be home all the time to look after him so I found someone to babysit"

"You mean you compelled someone" Caroline deadpanned

"Doesn't matter. I set up the camera so he can watch Stefan from here and when Stefan got better I forgot to take them down"

"You forgot? You mean you decided not to. How many of those hidden cams do you have in the house, Damon?"

"A few" Damon answered vaguely, tapping in one final key. Elijah and the witch popped up on the screen. "There. Now we can see the interrogation"

"Too bad we can't hear anything"

"Bonnie" Damon gasped. "Warn a guy"

"I told you they wouldn't notice us" Kol said to Bonnie. They had come down while Damon had been in the middle of his conversation with Caroline and hadn't noticed their arrival. "This is bloody useless then. What good is it if we can't hear them?"

"I can lip-read" Klaus volunteered. "I can interpret". He looked intensely at the screen. "Her name's Elise. She's eighteen. She enrolled in Mystic High because…"

"We don't want her background history. We want to know if she's part of the coven that is aiming to finish the vampire race and why she tried to kill my brother" Damon interrupted

"Elijah's doing the interrogation, not me" Klaus said, glaring at Damon for the interruption. He turned back to the screen and continued "She was in school because they wanted us to know they were here. They wanted to make a statement. And she trapped Stefan in the school because it will send us a message" He looked up. "She's cocky"

"She won't be when I'm done with her" Damon spat angrily as he walked towards the cellar.

Klaus sped over to him. "You can't go in there. Elijah would know we were watching. Privacy, remember?"

"Does anyone know what 'va te faire fautre' means?" Caroline asked. At the questioning glances she received she said "What? I can lip-read too"

Kol's jaw dropped. "She didn't"

"Why? What does it mean" Bonnie asked

"It means go fuck yourself" Damon answered as he rushed back with Klaus to look at the screen. "He's coming back. Man, Elijah's really got control. I would have snapped her neck by now. He just smiled" Damon said incredulously. He suddenly pointed at the screen. "Wait. He said something to her. She flinched. What did he say to her Blondie?"

"He said 'je vous evoie a celui dont vous avez essage de tuer le frère'"

Damon smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Finally" he said in a way that gave Caroline chills down her spine.

"What does it mean?" she asked Klaus

"I'm sending in the one whose brother you tried to kill"

* * *

_I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. Here's chapter 8. I'll put 9 up soon. Please review.**  
**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to L.J Smith and the CW**_

_**Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

Elijah restricted the urge to laugh when he walked into the living room to see its occupants trying to appear normal. In fact the only person who looked normal was Caroline who was doing God-knows-what on her phone. Bonnie sat in one of the couches with Kol's head on her lap and both of them trying to appear nonchalant. Klaus was pretending to draw. Elijah was about to ask them to spill when he spied the laptop from the corner of his eyes. In their hurry to get rid of it before Elijah came back they hadn't stowed it away properly. Elijah knew whatever this strange behavior was it had to do with the laptop.

He went over to the laptop and flipped it open to see Damon just entering the cellar. He heard Kol's sucked in breath and turned toward him.

"W-we were just watching 'Lijah. It doesn't even have sound. We didn't hear anything" Kol babbled

Elijah turned to Klaus. "I expressly asked for privacy. I can excuse Kol because he was not here when I said it but you were. And you did not listen"

Klaus blushed at being scolded in front of Caroline. "I'm sorry Elijah. It won't happen again" he murmured.

Elijah just nodded and turned back to the screen. "What are they saying?" he asked

"It doesn't have sound Elijah, we were …."

"I know Niklaus can lip-read Kol. Don't take me for a fool" he admonished Kol. He turned to Klaus. "So what are they saying?"

* * *

Elise was scared. But she was not going to let these monsters know that. She would be brave, even if the dark haired one who had almost killed her at the school got here. She would not show fear. She sighed. She should have just done her job. But she had seen an opportunity to kill one of them and she had taken it. And now she got herself held hostage with no magic. That little witch was more powerful than she looked.

Damon's entrance into the room broke her out of her musings. Fear sparked through her and she flinched, which she quickly covered with a glare thrown in Damon's direction. Damon smirked.

"How is your brother?" she asked sweetly in a thick French accent

Damon's demeanor changed quickly as he lifted her off the ground by her neck. "You don't wanna go there Sabrina" he warned. Elise clawed at her throat in an attempt to dislodge his hold, all in vain. When it looked like she was going to pass out, he released her. "You will do wise to choose your words well sweetheart 'cos I have a short temper. Now let's start this again. You tried to kill my brother, for which I promise you will pay, but first I'll need you to answer some questions"

"Je vous dis pas tout, monstre" she spat (**I'm not telling you anything, monster)**

"J'esperais que tu diras que" Damon answered **(I was hoping you'll say that). **At the surprised look he got from the girl, he said "My mother was French. I could speak it before I was three. And besides, I've lived for over a hundred years. That's enough time to pick up some new languages"

"Et ta mere ce que fait tout ce que vous avez ete? Embarrasse, je pense" she sneered **(And how does your mother feel about what you've become? Embarrassed, I think)**

"_She's dead" Caroline whispered after Klaus' translation_

Damon backhanded her. It was strong enough to sting but not to snap her neck. He leaned into her face. "Ne jamais parler ma mere" **(Don't you ever speak about my mother). **He smirked when he saw her frightened face. "How about we start answering those questions now, hmm? How many of you are in your coven?"

"I will not tell you anything. You are wasting your time"

"Oh I think you'll talk" Damon said. He bit into his wrist and stuck the wound to her mouth, force-feeding her his blood.

"_What is he doing?" Bonnie asked, bewildered_

"Damon removed his wrist from the bloody lips of Elise and squatted in front of her. "You have my blood in you now. You don't tell me what I want to know, I snap your neck. Then you'll come back like me, a monster. Let's see how much you like being hunted then"

"_Wow. That was a good one. She'll tell us anything now. There's nothing a witch fears or hates more than being turned into a vampire" Klaus said, impressed_

Elise was dumbfounded. She stared at Damon in a haze. She couldn't believe what just happened. When it finally registered, she flung herself at Damon and started hitting his chest, screaming hysterically. "What have you done? What have you done? You monster! Je vais te tuer **(I'm going to kill you)**"

"_Teenagers" Elijah scoffed_

Damon caught her hands in his and pushed her screaming self onto the bed. She kept mumbling mon dieu, mon dieu** (my God, my God)**. None of which Damon cared about. "How many of you are in your coven?" he asked again

"Three"

"_That was fast" Bonnie said unimpressed_

When it looked like Damon was not going to believe her, she quickly added "That is the truth, s'il vous plait** (please), **you have to believe me"

"I hear you have vampires too. How many?"

"Two. Jason and Ivan"

"You're going vamp hunting with three witches and two vampires? Pathetic" Damon scoffed. "I wonder how you're not dead already. What are the names of h other two witches?"

"Celeste and Ana" she answered

"_A little vampire blood and she's spilling all her guts. We should have done this sooner" Kol grumbled_

"I'm going to need a little more than that. Do you know how many Celestes and Anas are in Mystic Falls? J'ai besoin de plus d'information **(I need more information)**"

"C'est tout que je sais **(That is all I know)"**

"You don't know very much, do you? For a witch vampire hunter you are very unprepared" Damon taunted. "How long have you been doing this hunting thing?"

"Two months" Elise answered. Damon nodded for her to go on. "They approached me on the streets of France and asked me to join them"

"And you didn't think two witches asking you to be part of some vamp hunting crusade was nuts?" Damon asked sarcastically

"No. if it meant I could kill the monsters who murdered my parents" she spat angrily

"Revenge. I should have known. How is that working for you?"

"Celeste and Drina would find me. And when they do, I am going to enjoy killing you" she glared at Damon, momentarily forgetting Damon's threat of turning her into a vampire.

Damon turned to face her. "I thought you said their names were Celeste and Ana. Who is Drina? You wouldn't be lying to me now, would you?"

"I hear Celeste call Ana that sometimes. I don't know why. She tell me her name is Ana but I hear Grace call her Drina. I think she doesn't want any …."

"Tell me what she looks like" Damon demanded. He had suddenly turned very white.

"_What is going on with him" Caroline asked_

"_I don't know. But something's shaken him up" Bonnie answered_

"Who?"

"Ana or Drina or whatever the hell her name is" Damon was losing his patience

"_Uhh Elijah. I think you should get in there. Or that Elise girl is toast"_

"She is tall and has brown hair. Her eyes are blue but different shades. And there is a mark on her ….

"Cheek from her eyes to her mouth" Damon finished

"Yes. How do you know?"

"_He knows her?" Caroline asked, bewildered. "Of course he does"_

Damon walked towards the door. "We're done for today" he threw back as he closed the door behind him and made his way back to the living room.

* * *

"You know her?" Elijah asked Damon as he poured himself a glass of bourbon

"Them. I know them" Damon answered, downing the drink in one gulp. "And they are no followers of Ester"

* * *

_Two chapters in one day. I think I've bought myself some forgiveness. I'll try my best to update sooner. Reviews are welcome_


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. The are the property of L.J Smith and the C.W**

**Warning: Will cont****ain spanking in later ****chapters**

* * *

Stefan was bored out of his mind. It had been four days since the fire and he had been cooped up in the house since then. Damon's over protectiveness had reached an all time high and had now spread to everyone else in the house. Adriana, the witch after them who turned out to have her own agenda, had put him on high alert. Yesterday, he had questioned Klaus when Elijah asked him to get more blood for the house. When asked he had just brushed it away with some sarcastic comment about not wanting him to become a witch's dinner to which Klaus had answered in an equally sarcastic tone he didn't know Damon cared. But Stefan was not buying it. There was something Damon was not saying. He had told everyone about Adriana and how he assumed she would be dead since it had been long since they last met. And how their last meeting had not been pleasant and some stuff only Elijah and Bonnie were told. He remembered the conversation that followed the revelation.

"_Who are they?" Elijah asked_

"_The most horrible pair of sisters I've ever met. Not the most benevolent either. They are not here to do the world a favor and get rid of vampires. They won't kill us. No, they want something else. Something I'm not sure I want to know" Damon shuddered. "There's one upside though. They won't hurt the wolves"_

"_How do you know that?" Mayor Lockwood asked_

"_Werewolves are not exactly an abomination of nature so they have nothing against them. Besides if she wanted anything from them she'd have to wait until the full moon when they are at their strongest and that's about some twenty odd days away. Adriana is not a patient woman. So Tyler and Mason are not in any danger"_

"_How are you so sure about that?"_

"_I told you. I know them"_

The Mayor sent Tyler and Mason out of town. Though she was convinced they were not in danger. Better safe than sorry after all. She even went the extra step to make Bonnie cloak them. They would not be found. But Stefan knew his brother. There was a lot about Adriana Damon was not saying.

Stefan knew he was not the only one who was bored. Kol was too. And he was driving his brothers crazy with his whining. Yesterday Klaus had to physically throw him out of his room and Elijah threatened to spank him if he didn't behave. That sobered him for a couple of hours. Then he was all hyper again and Elijah had Bonnie spell him to sleep. Damon hadn't needed Bonnie to spell Stefan to sleep. One eyebrow raised in warning and he was scampering to his room and throwing himself on the bed in a huff. Klaus had Caroline and Caroline had both Bonnie and Klaus. Elijah and Damon had whatever it was they did all day. But he and Kol had no one. Sure he had Elena and Kol bothers Bonnie sometimes when she was not busy with Elijah and Damon or Caroline but it wasn't enough when Elena could only visit a couple of hours a day. She didn't even stay the night anymore and he missed her and…

"Aaaarrrrhhhh" Stefan screamed into his pillow frustratingly

"Having a bad day?"

He raised his head to see Kol in the doorway, an amused expression on his face. He sighed "I'm just bored. I find myself wishing there actually was school to attend. At least then I could go out"

"I may have a solution to your problem" Kol said mysteriously

"What solution?" Stefan asked, eyeing Kol suspiciously

That was all the invitation Kol needed. He closed the door behind him and sat beside Stefan on the bed. "We're going to town today" he whispered

Stefan stared at him, dumbfounded. "Are you insane?" he whispered. "Damon will kill me if I go one millimeter over the property line. And I'm pretty sure Elijah would roast you alive"

"That is if we are caught" Kol said with confidence

"And how, pray tell, are we not going to get caught?"

"Because I know what everyone is doing this evening"

* * *

Stefan pulled the blanket up to his chin and evened out his breathing. This had better work or he was going to kill Kol. He heard Damon come up the stairs and open his bedroom door. He walked over to the bed and arranged the sheets more comfortably around him. _Mother hen._ He leaned over and put his night lamp off and walked out. Stefan waited until he heard Damon go back downstairs before he let out the breath he was holding. _Your turn, Kol._

Kol's had gone as smoothly as Stefan except Elijah had to stop and pick some shoes and clothes out of the way. Climbing out the window had also been easy, as they were both vampires. The difficult part had been trying to be as quiet as possible, considering they had just sneaked out of a house full of vampires. And now, now they were at the town square. They had almost forgotten that there was night life in Mystic Falls as they had been in the house for so long. They looked at each other and laughed. Here's to two hours of fun.

"Come on" Stefan nudged Kol, nodding towards the Grill

Kol shook his head. "It's too risky. The probability of us being recognized and shooed back home is too high. I wouldn't want to run into Matt or Mr. Saltzman"

"Matt is staying at the Gilbert house now. And Alaric would never allow him to work night shifts, even with no school. And he would not leave them alone at home either. So no. No probability of running into Matt or Mr. Saltzman"

"And the sheriff?"

"She doesn't come here unless there's a party. And I don't hear a party now"

"Look at you being all bad. Does Damon know?" Kol teased

Stefan glared at him playfully and they made their way to the Grill

* * *

Bonnie shut the grimoire with a sigh. A glance at the clock told her it was past midnight. Elijah smiled at her as she yawned. He had been teaching her some of his mother's spells. Translating them really, since he could no longer do magic.

"Most of the spells here are too difficult. I don't think I can do this Elijah"

"Just believe in yourself Bonnie. You are more powerful than you know. You are a Bennett. A descendant of Ayana herself. Your ancestor singlehandedly created the other side. You have a combination of three magics and you managed to put Silas down. Power is in your blood"

"You make me sound like some kind of super witch. And who is Ayana?"

"She was our mother's mentor. A teacher of sorts. When Henrik died our mother approached her to make us immortal. But Ayana refused. She said nothing was meant live forever and that nature would turn against us. Ester didn't listen and did the ritual herself and here we are"

"Here you are" Bonnie intoned, yawning again

"Go on up to bed. I'll clean up here"

"What about him?" Bonnie asked, nodding towards Damon, who had fallen asleep at the table with his head on his hands and was snoring softly.

"I could carry him to bed" Elijah offered

Bonnie chuckled. "I plan to sleep in today Elijah. He's annoying enough as it is. I'll just get him a blanket". When she came back downstairs Damon was lying on the couch and Elijah had cleared the table. "You really couldn't resist carrying him, could you?" she asked as she laid the blanket over Damon's sleeping form.

"He's surprisingly light. Not that it would have mattered. I could lift him with two fingers". He looked fondly at the sleeping vampire. "We didn't get along at first. He was cocky and knew the right buttons to push. Still does. But I later realized he would do anything for those he cared about. Behind that devil-may-care mask was a kind and loving boy. He's been through a lot, having had to raise Stefan for most of his life and afterlife"

"Yeah. He has to be exhausted. I don't think he's had a good nights sleep since the fire four days ago. Something's got him spooked"

"Spooked?"

"Afraid" Bonnie corrected. "And Damon doesn't scare easily. In fact I've never seen him scared. Not even you guys scared him. But the mention of that witch, Adriana, and he wouldn't let anyone out of his sight"

"There's more to the Adriana story than he let on" Elijah stated

Klaus suddenly came blurring down the stairs."Elijah, Kol's gone" he said wide-eyed

"What do you mean gone?"

"He's not in his room. And neither is Stefan"

* * *

Stefan watched as Kol drank his fill of the waitress. He hadn't had this much fun in ages. With Damon's strictly imposed nine o'clock curfew after he crashed the car, there had been no time to go out after school. And then ester's followers-no not Ester's follower but a witch with her own evil agenda- came after them it became no going over the property line. Now that he had some stolen freedom, he was going to enjoy it because the chance of this happening again was zero. They would most likely be caught if they tried it again.

Did he say again? Stefan sputtered on his drink as he spied Bonnie at the bar. He looked around frantically. Bonnie would never be here on her own. She most likely came with Elijah or Damon or both. He grabbed Kol's arm and dragged him away from the girl who he hurriedly compelled.

"We have to go. I just saw Bonnie at the bar. And I'm pretty sure she's not here alone"

"You're right. She's not"

Stefan stilled. He turned around to face an angry Damon. "I c-can explain" he stammered

"I'd be glad to hear it" Damon answered as he grabbed Stefan's collar and dragged him out the door. Stefan started struggling when they got outside and Damon swatted his backside three times in quick succession. Stefan blushed; glad they were outside before Damon swatted him. A yelp from Kol told him the boy had suffered the same fate. He jerked himself out of Damon's grasp angrily and stubbornly refused to move. Damon's already pissed off demeanor turned to furious instantly as he marched on his brother, only to stop suddenly when a voice asked behind them

"Going somewhere boys?"

* * *

C_hapter 10 up. I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've been without internet connection for a couple of weeks now. I'll try and update faster but I make no promises. Please review._


	11. Chapter 11

**_Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They belong to L.J Smith and theCW_**

_**Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

The woman who had spoken was tall, with long curly hair. The color of her hair was difficult to tell as it was dark outside the Grill. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties.

"Celeste" Damon spat, putting as much disgust into the name as possible

"Hello Damon" she greeted in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Long time no see"

"Not long enough" Damon replied, unconsciously pushing Stefan behind him

"Imagine my surprise" Celeste continued like Damon had not spoken "when I found out you were still alive after all these years". She looked at Damon. "Your mother would be disappointed in what you've become"

Stefan felt his brother tense. "You have no right to talk about my mother, you bitch" Damon snarled. He suddenly fell to his knees and held his head in pain.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You shouldn't call a woman names. You have to set a good example for little Stefan"

Stefan forgot momentarily that he was supposed to be angry at Damon. He ran at the witch only to be pinned to the ground helplessly. Kol collapsed suddenly and Elijah keeled over in pain.

"You vampires" Celeste sneered. "Such arrogant creatures. Always thinking you're superior. Who's superior now huh?" Her hold on the vampires suddenly wavered when she felt the power of another witch using against her. She turned and flung Bonnie into a wall with a flick of her wrist. Her momentary loss of concentration gave Damon enough time to recover from the aneurism and jump on her, sending both of them crashing into the ground. Before he could go in for the kill however, Celeste sent him to his knees once more as he clutched his head in pain. "I am not like all the other witches you've dealt with Damon. I am stronger and more powerful and your little witch better remember that fact"

"She is not j-just any witch. She's a B-Bennett" Damon hissed through the pain

"What…" she started and gasped suddenly. Her magic was draining out of her rapidly. She looked up to see Bonnie holding her hand and murmuring a spell under her breath. The disbelieving look she flashed at Damon made him smirk.

"A very powerful Bennett" he added smugly and then he snapped her neck

Celeste's death had broken the spell on Kol and Elijah and Damon could hear the eldest original checking his little brother over. Speaking of little brothers, he had to go see if Stefan was okay and then give him the whipping of a lifetime for leaving the house.

* * *

Klaus looked at the door again. That was the third time in five minutes, Caroline noticed. He was worried. Or afraid, Caroline couldn't tell which. She was going to say everything would be okay when the front door opened and Damon and Elijah came in, dragging Kol and Stefan by the neck and arm respectively. Bonnie followed closely behind.

There was a resounding _thwack_ as Klaus slapped Kol across the face. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you? You want to die huh, Kol. Is that what you want?" he shouted at the shocked boy. Caroline pulled him back and tried to calm him down. But he pulled himself out of her grasp and faced Kol again just as the youngest original whispered "I'm sorry Nik, I just wanted to have some fun"

"Fun? Fun? You think it is fun to watch your family die Kol. I watched Rebekah die, right in front of me and there's nothing fun about it. I saw her burst into flames before I could rescue her. You whine and mope around about Rebekah's death. I saw her die at the hands of those witches and I am not going to do it again Kol. Not again. I have not finished mourning Rebekah. I won't mourn you too" he turned around and disappeared up the stairs.

"I'll…Uhh…I'll go and talk to him" Caroline said hastily, and ran after Klaus

Elijah pushed Kol towards the stairs. "Go to your room Kol, and get ready for bed. I'll be up soon" Kol blurred up to his room quickly. He was still reeling from Nik's emotional outburst and didn't want anymore trouble.

"That goes for you too" Damon said to Stefan

Stefan scowled at him and shook his head. "No" he said petulantly

"I'm sorry. I think something's gone wrong with my hearing. You wanna repeat that a little louder?"

"I said no. I'm not going to my room"

"Would you rather I tan your ass down here?"

"No. I'm not going to let you"

"You're not going to let me? I didn't realize I needed your permission"

Bonnie was feeling uncomfortable. "I should go to bed now"

"No Bonnie, stay. There's no need to leave" he looked at Stefan. "Now you listen to me. I'm in no mood for your nonsense right now. We just killed a witch and her psycho sister is going to be out for blood and I need to make plans. So if I were you, I'd get my drunk ass out of my sight and go to my room"

"I'm not drunk" Stefan retorted. "I'm tired of you telling me what to do. You're not my father Damon. You have no right. This, this is your entire fault, isn't it? You recognized that witch woman at the Grill. She called you by name. And you know Adriana too. You knew they were sisters. You know more about them than anyone. You even knew they wouldn't harm the werewolves. How would you know all that unless you knew them very personally? I guess you know what I mean by personally"

Bonnie could swear there was smoke coming out of Damon's ear. She could hear his teeth grinding. Even Elijah was getting alarmed. The shouting match had brought Klaus and Caroline back downstairs and they were now watching the brothers argue.

"Stop talking" Damon hissed between his teeth

"Why? Because I'm right? Because you pissed off two powerful women enough to make them hunt down every vampire on the planet? What did you do? Kill their family in front of them? Break their hearts in a way only you can? How does it feel to know you doomed each and every one of us to some horrible fate just because you couldn't resist being a dick?"

"Stefan stop it"… "Stefan that's enough" Caroline and Elijah said at the same time. Stefan suddenly realized all that he had just said to his brother. Where had that come from? He gulped when he saw the furious look on Damon's face. Everyone looked at Damon. He seemed to be vibrating with barely controlled anger. Elijah stood ready to restrain him if he pounced on Stefan because that was the most likely outcome of this little spat.

Damon's barely controlled rage finally boiled over. "**SHE KILLED OUR MOTHER**" he shouted. There were twin gasps that most probably came from Bonnie and Caroline. Everyone else looked shocked, except Stefan, who looked like he'd been sucker punched. "Adriana killed mama while she was pregnant with your ungrateful, bratty self. And I kept her alive so you could be born and not die. I'm the reason you are alive today. I gave you life"

"W-What are you t-talking about" Stefan stuttered

"When Adriana sucked mother's magic away so her barren self could get pregnant, mama was already sick and weak and the only thing keeping her alive was her alive was her magic. That's right, mama was a witch. And Adriana and her whore of a sister took that from her. She would have died. Both of you would have died. So I pushed my magic into her. I tried to keep her alive. But I was only seven. My magic could only go so far. She died shortly after you were born, prematurely. I could save only you. I couldn't even see her before she was buried 'cos I was too weak and had to stay in bed. I almost died so you could be born Stefan and I practically raised you so you don't get to talk back to me"

"I have no right? I am not your father? Don't you tell me what I have a right to do and not to do. I have had that right since father was too absorbed in his grief to bother about you. I fed you, I cleaned you up, I took care of you when you were sick. I gave you a damn good childhood. Do you know what it is like to feel pain? Hmm? **ANSWER ME**! You don't. Because I always protected you. I was always there, even if you didn't see me. I always got you out before you got yourself into too much trouble. So when I say get your butt to your room, you get your butt to your room and stay there till I say otherwise" Damon ended his tirade, staring at Stefan pointedly. He was wide eyed and tears coursed down his face. On any other day, that sight would have prompted Damon to comfort him. But all it did today was annoy him. He raised his eyebrows. "Are you still standing here?" he asked ominously. Stefan went flying to his room.

It was so quiet in the living room you could hear a pin drop. A lot of revelations and some hard truths have been heard. Damon looked around at everyone staring at him and swiftly turned toward the door, grabbing his jacket off the arm of the couch and walking into the night.

* * *

When Damon walked into the house about an hour later, he found Klaus, Caroline, Bonnie and Elijah waiting for him. He made to ignore them and moved towards the stairs, only for Caroline to block his path. He growled.

"Get out of my way Blondie"

"Nuh-uh. You owe us an explanation. You can't just walk away"

"No I don't. Now move"

"Damon" Elijah called in that infuriatingly calm voice of his. "We need to talk"

"No we don't Elijah. Adriana would be here in five days. Its fight or flight. Let me know what you decide". And then he was gone.

"What did he mean by that?" Caroline asked no one in particular

"When a witch dies in a coven, he or she is mourned for five days before they are buried" Klaus answered. "So we have five days to either run or stay and fight"

* * *

_Please review_


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They belong to LJ Smith abd the CW_

_Warning: May contain spanking in later chapters_

* * *

Caroline sighed in frustration. She looked at Bonnie, whose look mirrored hers. "This witch means business. Rebekah's dead, Stefan almost died and you guys were attacked at the Grill. All this in less than a week. And the vampire helpers haven't even stepped in yet. It's either kill or be killed. She needs to die"

"That is easier said than done Barbie" Damon said. "Adriana is not your run-of-the-mill everyday witch. Witches are not immortal but she has lived for over a century and there's only few ways that can be done. You either take other witches powers or you are powerful enough to slow the aging process down. Now Adriana is powerful but she's no Bennett so I'm guessing she had to steal from others to keep herself young"

"Like she did to your mom" Caroline asked bluntly. Bonnie almost face palmed. _Tactless. _

Damon tensed. "Yes Caroline. Like she did to my mother. As I was saying…"

"Why don't you tell us what happened? You have to do it sometime. Why not now?" at the half-hearted glares thrown her way, she scoffed "Oh please, like you don't want to know" she looked at Damon "And not the shouted version you gave Stefan"

Damon glared so coldly at Caroline she almost regretted asking. Almost. But then Damon lowered his eyes and started talking. "Adriana was my mother's best friend so I saw her and her sister at the mansion a lot of times. She even helped a few times when my mother was teaching me magic. Sometimes I would catch her looking at me but she would avert her eyes immediately I turned. I asked Martha, one of the maids, why Adriana kept looking at me and if I'd done something wrong. She said it wasn't me and that Adriana couldn't have a child so I just brought out those feelings in her. The longing looks continued until my mother found out she was pregnant with Stefan. Then they became dark. Now the looks were directed at my mother, at her stomach. Then my mother became sick. She was weak, with consum-tuberculosis. It would have killed her and Stefan but she used her magic as some sort of chemo. It was the only thing keeping her alive. She didn't want to lose another baby"

"Another baby? She lost a baby before?"

"Yes. His name was Alexandro. He was born three years after me. He died after twenty three days" Damon said somberly. "So my mother's magic was the only thing keeping her and Stefan alive. Then I went to see her one day and I fond Adriana by her side. She had been away for a couple of months so I assumed they were catching up. I stood by the door and waited for her to leave so I could go in. as I waited, I became impatient. I was seven after all. So I took to peeping in through the crack in the door. What I saw has never left my mind. Adriana held my mother's hand while her sister stood at the foot of the bed and read from a grimoire. The look on my mother's face was a mixture of fear, pain and betrayal. Fear at losing another baby and the betrayal from one she considered her best friend. I pushed the door open and run to my mother's side, startling Adriana and Celeste. My mother looked pale, paler than usual, and there were specks of blood on her lips. I looked at Adriana and her sister, who were staring at me with wide eyes and open mouths and in a moment of pure white rage, I sent the knife on my mother's bedside table flying into Celeste's abdomen and then into my hand. I jumped on Adriana and tried to stab her too but she was turning to kneel by her sister so my knife cut across her face instead"

"You gave her that scar?" Caroline asked incredulously. "You were some bad ass witch, weren't you? But why hasn't the scar healed? I mean it's been over a century and half"

Damon went to the bar and poured himself a drink. "I don't know. But I'm glad it didn't" he sighed and continued. "After that my mother became weaker and weaker each day. I wasn't supposed to know but Martha told me that she and the baby-Stefan- wouldn't make it. Martha said her magic was what had kept her alive all those months and Adriana had taken it from her so now the sickness was taking its course"

"Why did Adriana take your mother's magic? I mean she could just have waited until after the baby was born. Why didn't she?" Bonnie asked, confused

"For her to be able to have a child, she needed to take the magic of another burdened with child" Elijah explained

"Oh" Bonnie said "You mentioned yesterday that you kept your mother alive. How did you do that?"

"I don't know how I did it Bonnie. I was seven and I was desperate. I was just fixated on keeping my mother alive. I pumped my magic into my mother's body every waking day for eleven days. Martha realized what I was doing when my mother was still alive after the fourth day and tried to drag me away but I wouldn't budge. When she came to check on me on the eleventh day, she found me on the floor. She told me I had overexerted myself and that I fainted. I was in and out of consciousness for over two weeks and in that time Stefan had been born and my mother had died and been buried. I didn't even get to say goodbye". He snorted and downed the rest of the alcohol he was holding

"Why didn't you tell me this?"

Everyone whirled around to find Stefan standing at the foot of the stairs. They had been so engrossed in Damon's story no one had heard him come down. Bonnie gasped at his appearance. He looked like he had not had a bath in days and his eyes were red, like he had been crying. He also looked exhausted. It was like he hadn't slept. He balanced himself on the railing, which Bonnie thought was a good idea considering he looked like he was about to fall over any second.

"Stefan…" Damon began

"I-I know you d-didn't tell me to come out b-but it's been t-two d-days and I wan-wanted to apologize" Stefan stammered, eyes pooling with tears. "You know it m-makes sense now. When I was snooping around father's office and I broke his whisky glass and ran to you screaming, you said it wasn't broken at all and that I had imagined it in my frenzied state and I believed you. But I did break it, didn't I? And you put it back together before father found out. And when William Fell pushed me into the lake, he fell sick suddenly, like he had been cursed. That was also you, wasn't it? My entire life, all you've done is look after me and…and" his breath hitched, the tears finally spilling over. "I'm sorry for saying those things to you. I d-didn't mean it. I was j-just angry a-at you" he sobbed

Damon hugged him tightly to his chest. "It's ok. It's ok. I'm sorry I left you in your room for so long. I kind of lost track of time" He kissed Stefan's head. "It's not your fault. You didn't know. Hush now" he soothed

"Per f-favore, fratello. Mi d-dispiace **(Please brother. I'm sorry)**" Stefan mumbled into his shirt

"I know. It's alright. All is forgiven. Si sta andando a farsi male**(You're going to make yourself sick)**

Stefan gave a watery chuckle. "I'm a vampire. I can't fall sick"

Damon pressed another kiss to his head as he run his hand through the dirty blonde hair. It felt coarse. He frowned and leaned Stefan back, taking a closer look at his baby brother, who tried to snuggle back into his arms. He chuckled. "Why don't you go change out of these clothes and take a shower. Maybe get some sleep. We'll talk later, _si?_"

Despite the questioning tone, Stefan knew Damon was not asking. He grumbled and got up, swaying on his feet a bit, and made his way upstairs. Damon heard the shower running a few minutes later.

"Well that was intense"

"Caroline!" Bonnie hissed

She mouthed "what" to Bonnie and shrugged, turning back to Damon. They were the only three people left in the room, Elijah and Klaus having disappeared upstairs sometime between Stefan's sobbed apologies. "So if you were a witch, how did Katherine compel you? I mean witches can't be compelled, right?"

Bonnie actually face palmed this time. She got up and dragged a protesting Caroline upstairs, muttering something about help doing her nails. Damon smirked.

Stefan came back downstairs, freshly showered and wearing new clothes. Damon raised an eyebrow. "I thought I said to get some sleep"

"You didn't say where" Stefan answered as he curled himself on the couch and put his head in Damon's lap.

"Touché" Damon muttered. He ran his hand through Stefan's hair soothingly and within a few minutes he was out like a light. Elijah and Klaus joined them, the latter curling himself into one of the chairs and staring to draw. Elijah started to draw, after answering Damon that Kol was asleep and the shower was running in Bonnie's room.

Damon sighed and leaned his head against the back of the couch. He was just starting to doze off when the door opened with such force it flew right off its hinges, startling the occupants of the room.

"Well isn't this cozy" A cold voice said and everything went dark

* * *

When Damon came to the first thing he noticed was that he was on his back and there were things lying on top of him- heavy things. He lifted the heavy beam that had fallen on him and crawled out from under the debris. The second thing he noticed was the gaping hole where the door should have been. Everything came rushing back and he jumped to his feet.

"Damon. Oh thank God. We couldn't find you and we thought…"

"I'm fine Barbie" Damon said, looking around. The living room was destroyed, like a hurricane had occurred in there. His bottles of bourbon were all broken on the floor. He growled. _He was going to kill Adriana_. The couch Stefan had been lying on was turned upside down. Stefan. _Where was Stefan?_ "Where is Stefan?"

Silence

"Caroline where is my brother?" Damon asked, stalking over to where she was standing and looking like he wouldn't care strangling her to get an answer

"They are gone, Damon" Bonnie answered hurriedly

"What do you mean gone? And who are 'they'?"

"Stefan and Klaus. Adriana took them"

"No"

"I'm sorry Damon"

"No…No…Nooooooo!"

* * *

_Reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to LJ Smith and the CW**_

_**Warning: Will contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

"She's going to kill them. I know it"

"We don't know that Damon"

"Of course we do. She killed Rebekah. What's to stop her from killing Klaus and Stefan, huh?" Damon responded, agitated. He paced furiously up and down the room, composure hanging by a thread. Elijah was not better off either, even though he outwardly portrayed calm. Bonnie knew he was angry inside. She could feel it. He couldn't handle the loss of another sibling. And if Klaus died so did Stefan and Damon and Caroline. Bonnie hoped the witches didn't know that.

"You said Adriana was not just killing vampires. You said she'd never do something so benevolent. That there was something else she was doing for herself. Whatever it was she was gaining from the vampires we hope it keeps them alive until we find them" Caroline stated, trying to offer some hope

Damon clutched his hair tightly as his composure finally shattered. He let out a strangled sob and curled in a corner of the room, muttering in a mixture of languages. "Lei lo ammazzo **(she'll kill him) **comme ma mere** (like my mother). **Il est la seule famille que je laisse** (he's the only family I have left). **I promised I wouldn't lose another sibling and I let Adriana take him"

Elijah walked up to him and crouched in front of him. "You didn't let Adriana take him Damon. It's not your fault. And Stefan's not the only family you have. You have us. Klaus is strong. He'll protect him until we find them. In the meantime, Bonnie will locate them. We'll bring him home Damon. We'll bring both of them home. So pull yourself together. It's time to know what this Adriana witch really wants from vampires"

* * *

Bonnie pored over the grimoires as Damon, Elijah, Caroline and Kol tried to put the room back the way it was. The calm in the house was surprising, considering two of their number had been kidnapped. That was exactly how Alaric felt when he walked in a few minutes later.

"You're very composed for two people whose little brothers have been kidnapped by a psychotic with" he snapped at Damon and Elijah. "Is there something I'm missing or do you just prefer cleaning to finding a way to get them back?"

"Relax Ric. It's ok"

"Ok? Damon, you call this ok? Stefan's gone, and you are playing housekeeper. Do you have any idea what he could be going through right now?"

"Mr. Saltzman, I assure you, we are not slacking in any way. We are working to find them" Elijah said

"By picking up broken chairs and sweeping dust?"

"{Adriana needs five days to mourn and bury her sister. It's been only two days. She won't touch them until after the burial is over. That gives us three days to find and save my brother and Stefan. We might as well do that in comfort while Bonnie looks for a potent spell"

"Oh" Ric said. That sounded sensible. He turned to Bonnie. "Have you found anything yet?"

"I'm onto something." She answered. "What do you know about channeling someone?' she asked Elijah and Damon

"When a witch channels, it makes them stronger. It's like taking strength from something or someone else. When a witch channels something alive, it's like sharing the burden of a spell. But when the other party is unwilling it's painful and instead of sharing, it steals the unwilling party's strength. It's not a pretty sight when someone is being channeled against their will" Elijah explained. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I know why Adriana and her sister came after the vampires. They're channeling them"

"Holy crap"

Bonnie looked amused despite the situation. "Did you just swear?" she asked Elijah

"I believe I did" he answered in the usual Elijah manner

"Is it bad?" Alaric asked

"Quite bad, I'm afraid. If humans are channeled they could die because their bodies are weak and their strength is limited. When witches channel each other, it's like a share of duties and powers, and if done right there are no bad side effects. But a vampire…"

"A vampire is an infinite source of strength and they have accelerated healing so there's no fear of death like in humans or time needed to recuperate from over exertion like witches" Alaric ended as realization dawned on him "Good God"

Ye Mr. Saltzman, its bad"

There's something else Elijah" Kol said, his face paling as he handed Emily's grimoire to his older brother. Elijah took the book and read what Kol pointed at, his eyes becoming wider and wider with each line. He handed the grimoire to Bonnie, who also read. Caroline and Alaric waited expectantly for an explanation. Caroline knew the grimoire was probably in Latin, which she couldn't read. Damn! Why did all the spells have to be in Latin anyway? What was so special about that language? When she couldn't wait any longer, she huffed.

"Well? What's in there that's got you all so white? We all don't speak witchy you know"

Elijah shook himself out of his dreamlike state. "Adriana's not channeling just any vampire"

"What do you mean she's not channeling just any vampire?" Damon asked warily. He had an idea where this was going but he hoped to God he was wrong

"She's targeting vampires who were once witches"

"What!" Caroline and Alaric shouted at the same time

"Oh God"

"Why? What is it?" Caroline practically screamed

"It says here that when a witch channels a vampire she doesn't become more powerful. She only becomes stronger, able to perform magic without over exertion. No nosebleeds or passing out or something like that. But when the vampire was a witch once, if the witch tried hard enough she could get access to their magic too"

"What do you mean access to their magic? I thought you can't be a vampire and a witch at once. You stop being a witch when you become a vampire, right?" Alaric questioned

"Yes. That is true. But it doesn't mean the magic isn't still there. That is why they can be a witch again when they turn human. When you are a witch turned vampire, your magic is still inside you. You just can't have access to it until such a time as you are no longer a vampire. Then you can be a witch again" Kol explained

"So you are basically saying Adriana knows this and so she's not just going after vampires, she's going after vampires with a secret magic purse locked away in their bodies?" Caroline asked

"Yes" Elijah, Bonnie and Kol answered at once

"That must be why she took Klaus and Stefan, because they used to be witches"

"I don't think so, no. Niklaus couldn't do magic. I didn't understand when we were human but after we turned I realized it was because he was already a supernatural. He was a werewolf. Nature's laws. You can't be both" Elijah explained. "I'm grateful for that now. When we were young he would feel left out he would feel left out when we were practicing with our mother. But now I'm glad. Glad that he wouldn't go through the excruciating pain of having it taken away from him"

"Ok, so Klaus has no magic she can pry from within him and neither has Stefan. So why did she take them? I mean you and Damon were right here with them. With their history she had to know Damon was pretty powerful and has a decent sized magic purse within, and since she was able to kill Rebekah _**with**_ a white oak stake, I'm assuming she knew your family history enough to know that you were all once witches and Klaus couldn't be both. Why did she not go for you two?"

"She wants revenge for her sister's death. I'm sure she grabbed the first two she could lay hands on. And how do we know Stefan was not a witch?" Alaric asked, glancing at Damon

Everyone turned to Damon too. He picked a broken chair from the floor and attempted to take it outside, where they had piled the broken things to burn.

"Damon?" Alaric prompted

"Was Stefan a witch too?"

"No… Yes" Damon and Elijah answered simultaneously.

Alaric looked confused. "Uhh, which one is it?" he looked bet5ween Damon and Elijah

"He didn't practice" Damon answered

"But he was born a witch" Elijah rebutted

"No. He can't be. I took it away. I made sure he had a normal life. He is **NOT** a witch" Damon stressed

"You can't really take it away Damon. Like Elijah said, it's like being human. You can't take someone's humanity away. You can't take away pain or sorrow or sickness. You will think you took it away but it's still in there somewhere. Sorry Damon" Bonnie said

Damon looked like he was about to cry. He couldn't let Stefan go through that. He couldn't let Adriana use Stefan as a guinea pig, see if she could pry that pocket of magic from within him if she pushed hard enough. And she would push. No, he couldn't let his brother go through that.

Alaric quickly tried to diffuse the situation. "Hey calm down. That will not happen. We've already established that Adriana's looking for revenge for her sister's death. She's not about to start increasing her power now"

Damon looked up at him with wet eyes. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? She won't _**torture **_him for his magic, she'll just _**torture**_ him for revenge which is so **MUCH** better than the first option" Damon spat

"I'm sorry Damon. I was just trying to offer some comfort"

Damon's crushed look disappeared in a blink of an eye and his face hardened. He glared at Alaric so coldly, he took a step back. "There is nothing comforting about this situation, Ric. She took them. She took Klaus and Stefan. And we don't know what she has in store for them. We are hoping that she buries her sister first before trying anything else. But how do we know that is what she'll do, huh? I mean she was supposed to not show her face until after five days but she appeared in two days. How do we know she won't just start torturing them now instead of waiting for the next three days?" Damon ranted

"The burial of a witch is a sacred ritual Damon. It always takes five days" Bonnie said

"Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying? Adriana doesn't care about some sacred ritual. She would probably care because it's her sister but revenge will cloud her mind. She would to get it over with quickly, and start punishing whoever was responsible. She has never been a patient person"

"I agree with Damon. I don't trust this Adriana witch to mourn for three days when the faces of her sister's killers are staring at her every minute. Miss Bennett, try that locator spell again' Elijah said

"Again? You were never going to wait for three days?" Damon asked. Then he looked hurt. "You lied to me"

"I didn't lie Damon. I just needed to calm you down'

"Still the same. I can't find them" Bonnie said to Elijah

Jut then, Damon's phone rung. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller. "Klaus?" he called out, puzzled. Elijah prompted him to answer it. He answered it and put it on speaker.

"Hello Damon" a female voice greeted. Damon's breath hitched as he recognized the voice. He hissed and replied venomously.

"Adriana"

* * *

_Reviews are greatly appreciated_


	14. Chapter 14

**_Warning: Spanking (severe) in this chapter_**

* * *

Klaus opened his eyes sluggishly with a groan. He looked around blearily, noticing another body lying a few feet from him. He staggered to his feet, putting his arms out immediately to balance himself when a wave of dizziness washed over him. He tottered over to the body and turned it over.

"Stefan"

Stefan must have been more affected by what happened than him. He remembered the door flying off its hinges, a cold voice and then darkness. Stefan had been closest to the door. He had been sleeping in his brother's lap when the attack had happened. It made more sense that he was more affected. Besides Klaus was older and stronger and Stefan's animal diet delayed his healing substantially. He shook him gently.

"Stefan, come on wake up. We need to get out of here"

Stefan groaned and blinked up at him blearily. Then he whimpered.

Klaus looked worried. "What? What is it?"

"T-there's something in my b-back. It h-hurts" he hissed

Klaus turned him onto his stomach and winced. "It's… Uhh… it's a piece of wood. You probably landed on it. Lucky it's not your heart. Try and keep still. I'll take it out" Klaus said, digging one hand into the wound and clamping the other on Stefan's mouth to stifle the screams. He didn't want their captor knowing they were awake. He managed to pull out the piece and Stefan slumped to the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists with tears coursing silently down his face. Klaus also leaned back, sitting on his heels. He glanced at Stefan. The wound on his back was not healing and they needed to get out of here. He bit into his wrist and pressed it to Stefan's mouth, only for Stefan to move away. Klaus huffed and pressed a hand against Stefan's neck, effectively immobilizing him.

"We do not have enough time for this Stefan. You need to heal enough for us to get out of here. Now is not the time to be picky" he pressed, force-feeding Stefan the blood

They opened the door and crept outside quietly. They found themselves in some sort of hallway and it seemed to be empty. Klaus was in the lead, keeping Stefan behind him as they walked silently but quickly down the hallway. The lack of activity and the seemingly easy way they had been able to leave the room and navigate the hallway made Klaus suspicious. But he shoved his suspicions aside and they kept moving.

"This is too easy. Stefan whispered

"I know. But we have o keep moving…Stefan watch out!" One of the vampires had jumped from nowhere and was headed straight for Stefan. Klaus ripped out his heart with lightening speed. He turned to Stefan. "How many did that little witch say they had?"

"Two"

"That means there's still one around here somewhere. We need to hurry" Klaus said, searching the dead vampire's pockets

What are you looking for?"

"A phone. We need to call Elijah" Klaus answered, still rummaging through the vampire's pockets. "I think I found one"

"Let's hope it doesn't have a password" Stefan said

Klaus dug the phone from the man's pocket. "I don't think that will be a problem" he looked at Stefan. "It's mine. They must have searched before putting us in that room". He put the phone in his pocket. "Come on Stefan. We'll call when we are out of here"

They practically ran through the house and threw the front door open, stepping out into the sunlight. Klaus pulled out the phone to call Elijah and dropped it immediately to clutch his head in pain. Stefan whirled around to see Adriana with her arms outstretched towards them and muttering a spell under her breath. He turned around quickly and picked up the fallen phone, dialing Damon's number before everything went dark.

* * *

When Stefan came to he noticed immediately that he was not alone. He sniffed the air discreetly to see if he could tell who was in the room with him. He became alarmed when he realized he couldn't smell Klaus but Adriana was there, with another scent he didn't recognize. His breathing must have changed because Adriana spoke to him.

"Hello Stefan. Nice of you to join us"

Stefan pushed himself up and glared at Adriana coldly. "Where is Klaus? What did you do to him?"

Adriana chuckled. "So much fire. Like your brother. Which is not surprising seeing as he practically raised you. Relax. Klaus is fine for now. I'll bring you to him after your punishment"

"P-punishment? What punishment?" Stefan stammered

"Oh Stefan. You didn't think I'd let you go scot free after your attempted escape did you? And you also killed Ivan, though it's Klaus who'll suffer for that. When that's done there's something you're going to give me or to pit it correctly I'm going to take from you, and then finally we'll discuss my sister" Adriana said, placing a belt on the table in front of Stefan. Stefan looked at the belt with a quizzical look on his face. It looked familiar. In fact it looked just like… Stefan glanced down quickly at his trousers.

"As you have guessed correctly, it's yours. Fine, expensive, Italian leather. I'm guessing Damon bought it for you. You people always did have too much money" she said with a touch of bitterness in her voice

Stefan's eyes widened as he realized what Adriana had in mind. "You aren't… you can't…"

"You'll find that I can Stefan. And I'm going to this is how punishment was dealt out when we came from and I know it's not new to you. So if I were you I would stop wasting my time and lean over the table"

Stefan shook his head. He was not going to just lay across the table and let Adriana sp-punish him. As he was contemplating what to do he felt fire sear through his veins a scream tore out of his throat. He sagged back on the bed as the pain stopped suddenly. The relief he felt made it take a while longer before he realized he couldn't move. He could feel all his appendages but they felt like lead all of a sudden and he couldn't move them, not even his head. The only thing he could move was his eyes. He felt like a spectator in his own body. He spied Adriana from the corner of his eyes as she smiled.

"Next time I ask you to do something, don't ever say no". She nodded to Jason and he lifted Stefan onto his shoulders and draped him across the table. "For disobeying me, you lose the privilege of keeping your pants" she said and Stefan felt his jeans and boxers being pulled to his ankles. Tears leaked out from the corner of his eyes as he realized all he could do was lay there and take whatever Adriana's henchman decided to dole out. He couldn't even twitch his hands. "Now for the finishing touches" Adriana said, pulling out Klaus' phone and dialing a number. "Hello Damon"

"Adriana" Stefan heard his brother hiss into the phone

* * *

"I swear if you touch a hair on their heads, I'll…"

"Kill me? Please. Do you know how many times people have threatened to kill me? And yet I'm still here"

"You'll find that I do not make threats Adriana. If there is so much as a scratch on Stefan I **will **hunt you to the ends of the earth and beyond and I **will** kill you. I have nothing but time"

"Well I intend to do more than just scratch him Damon" Adriana sneered. "I do hope the eldest original is close by. I will need to talk to him later cos I have Klaus on hold"

"You play with fire you vile woman" Elijah snarled calmly into the phone.

Adriana laughed. "Oh Elijah. The noblest of them all. You will not reduce yourself to making threats, not that they will be any help but still. I'm sorry about Rebekah, you know. It was not my intention to kill her but you people were getting too close for comfort. She was very strong willed that one; wouldn't give me what I wanted. It was already virtually impossible to take and agonizingly painful but somehow she managed to make it impossibly impossible and refused to let go. I wished I had more time with her. But then you guys came running to save her and I had to kill her. So basically it's your fault she's dead. You killed your sister…"

"You do not get to talk about Rebekah you murderess. You know nothing of family. You disgust me. And if anything happens to Niklaus, Damon's not the only one who doesn't make idle threats. I will descend on you with the fury of a thousand demons and you will regret ever being born" Elijah practically yelled

Adriana's happy clapping was heard over the phone. "Gold star! I got you good didn't I Elijah? You finally lost your infuriating calm demeanor. But wait, I digress. Now the real reason we are having this pleasant conversation is because both your little brothers tried to escape. Younger siblings can be so much trouble right? Well I can't have that so they are going to be punished and you are the lucky winners of free tickets to that opera. Unfortunately it won't be much of an opera because Klaus killed Ivan so Jason will have to take turns punishing both your naughty little brothers. Let the show be… wait I think Stefan ants to talk to his big bro". They heard shuffling sounds as she moved a few feet. "Come on Stefan. Say hello to big brother… oh you can't. I'm sorry. The spell I used must have worked too well. Let me rectify that. I want to hear him scream after all" She muttered a spell under her breath and Stefan felt his tongue loosen. "Ha, that's better. Hello Damon, you still there? Baby brother's ready to talk now". She put the phone to Stefan's ear.

Stefan waited a moment and then whispered tentatively into the phone. "D-Damon?"

"Stefan. Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did she do to you?" Damon asked frantically

"I'm sorry"

"Non c'e niente di essere dispicuito per il fratello. Bonnie lavorondo duramente per individuare l'utente. Stiamo andando ti riportera a casa, te lo prometto" (**There's nothing to be sorry for brother. Bonnie's working hard to locate you. We're going to bring you home, I promise)**

"Non r-riesco a muovermi Damon. Ho p-paura"** (I c-can't move Damon. I'm s-scared)**

"So che sei spaventata, ma davi essere forte per me va bene. Ha…"** (I know you're scared but you have to be strong for me okay. You ha…)**

"Ahhhh!" Damon was cut off by Stefan screaming. He turned wide questioning eyes to Elijah for a second before his face hardened again. Adriana's voice came over the phone.

"Whoa. The show begins. Nice move Damon. Speaking Italian. I could never tolerate that language and you know it. Sounded too vulgar for me. French on the other hand is exquisite. The language of kings. I don't know what you told baby bro but it looked touching"

Damon could hear the whooshing of the belt through the air and the resounding slap of wet leather on bare flesh. He could also hear Stefan's sharp intake of breath every time the belt landed in an attempt to not cry out. He knew it wouldn't last-Stefan had never been good with pain-but he was proud of his little brother. He suddenly realized something.

"What the hell are you hitting him with Adriana? It doesn't sound right. What are you doing to him?"Damon growled

"Oh that wet sound? It's vervain. Genius right? You can practically hear the flesh sizzling. You should know that I got this idea from you though. I was thinking; how would you punish your brother if he did something he shouldn't do? I didn't know what to do so I dived into his mind and man was I glad with what I found. I'm not doing anything you wouldn't have done, except the vervain part of course. And the spell part. Okay maybe I changed a lot. Poor Stefan. Probably shouldn't have tried to escape" Adriana said, placing the phone beside Stefan's head and effectively cutting off Damon's expected yells and threats. She returned to her seat and urged Ivan on.

Stefan was in agony. Mind numbing, bone crushing, skin melting agony. He hurt all over. Most especially his ass, which he was sure, was three times its normal size and probably bleeding. The vervain burned as it coursed through his body and his head and throat hurt from screaming and crying. But he felt proud of himself. He had shouted and cried out loud and wept openly but not once did he ask for mercy. He didn't give Adriana the pleasure of seeing him beg and for that he was proud. He let out a grateful sob as finally, finally Ivan stopped swinging the belt and dropped it to the floor. Adriana raised the immobilization spell she placed on him but he could still hardly move. But Adriana wasn't fazed. She bent down to Stefan's eye level and smiled sweetly at him.

"Get some rest sweetie. I have to go deal with your partner in crime. We'll talk later" she practically cooed and then she swept out of the room, Jason close on her heels. Stefan pulled himself up from the table by sheer will alone. He was in so much pain and so weak but there was no way he was going to remain half naked and draped over that terrible table. He pulled his boxers and jeans up, moaning loudly in pain and crawled over to the bed in the corner. He lay on his stomach as still as possible, muffling his sobs into his fists and hoping that Klaus fared better than him.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries don't belong to me. I wish they did but they don't.**_

_**Warning: May contain torture scenes**_

**So I wanted to apologize. I'm really, really sorry for not updating for so long. safe haven is almost over by the way. It has only about four chapters left and I've completed two already. So as soon as I can get some breathing space from tedious school work, I'll type them right up and update. I have a new story up. I know I shouldn't be writing new ones with all the ones I have to update but these are two brothers who say they hate each other but will rush into danger for one another. I've got many stories swimming around in my head but I put a can on them because I have to finfish the current ones I've started. I even managed to place a lid on my ****_supernatural_**** urges but this just wouldn't leave me alone. so please go read and review. and I'll find time to update my other stories. between boring lectures and annoying assignments that wouldn't be a problem.**

* * *

Klaus did not look surprised when Adriana slinked into the room though his back was to the door. She may have immobilized him but he still had his super senses and he had heard Stefan's screams. He was strung up spread eagled; some evil looking sharp toothed clamps were locked onto his wrists. They bit into his flesh and blood flowed freely down his arm. The chain connecting the clamps was pulled so tightly he was practically standing on tiptoes. Adriana walked around and stopped in front of him, staring into his eyes. Klaus glared back, eyes flashing yellow and Adrianna chuckled.

"Niklaus Mikaelson. The big bad wolf. I've heard a lot of things about you"

"Get on with it witch. Your yammering is boring me" he growled at her

Adriana just smirked wider. "Ooh, brave huh? We'll see about that. And don't be in such a hurry to get started. You might regret it" she straightened. "We're ready for you now Jason" she spoke softly

Klaus heard the door open as Jason came in and placed a bucket in front of him. In it was soaking a leather whip. Klaus rolled his eyes, bored. _Really? A whip?_ He'd had far worse even as a human with his father made sure of it. And he told Adriana exactly that.

"This is your big punishment? Love, you know nothing about causing pain" he taunted

"Oh you have not seen anything yet Klaus" she smiled sweetly, undaunted by Klaus taunts. She took a vial of blood and poured a few drops into the bucket containing the soaking whip. Klaus recognized the smell of the blood as his, though he didn't remember any blood being drawn from his body. It must have been done while he was unconscious. Adriana picked up his phone and dialed a number. Then she put the phone on speaker and stepped in front of the bucket and vial with outstretched hands, starting to chant loudly just as the phone was answered on the other end.

* * *

When Elijah's phone rang and the screen flashed Klaus he instantly knew it was Adriana and she was going to torture Klaus. So he answered the call and immediately put the phone on loud speaker. But instead of hearing Adriana's sneering evil voice, he heard her reciting a spell.

_Phasmatis materia mairobus vereor_

The color drained from Elijah's face. "No… no… stop. STOP! Please stop" he shouted. Everyone looked t him, confused

"Elijah, what's…?" Bonnie began

_Existo plurimus vereor alio_

"No, no, no. Please. Please I'm begging you. STOP. Don't do this. Don't. Please Adriana. ADRIANA!"

Kol and Damon finally caught up to what Elijah was hearing and their eyes widened in horror.

"Oh God. She's… she's…" Kol was trembling

"She's going to break him" Damon whispered dejectedly. He had been relying on Klaus to keep Stefan safe and grounded.

Caroline looked lost. "Guys, Bonnie, what is going on?"

_Vescor suus monumentum_

"I don't know Care. I don't know the spell… Wait, wait. I've seen that spell before" Bonnie flipped through the grimoires quickly with her magic, snatching the book up and quickly reading the spell. She looked at Caroline. "It's a reanimation spell of sorts"

"Reanimation? Who could she be reanimating that's got Elijah so sca… no, she's not… is she? But that's not possible"

* * *

_Planto lemma venio_

Adriana finished reciting the spell and disappeared behind Klaus for a moment. She came back and grinned at him. "This is going to be fun"

Klaus rolled his eyes like he was bored. In truth he was beginning to get scared. He had heard Elijah shouting and pleading on the phone and Elijah never got scared. But he wouldn't let Adriana know that she was getting to him so he acted bored. He yawned.

"You're putting me to sleep witch"

She raised her voice a little louder. "You can come in now"

Klaus heard heavy footsteps behind him, beside him, now before him. His eyes widened and his breath quickened. For the first time since he woke up in the restraints he tried to get away. He struggled and struggled but the clamps only bit further into his skin. The footsteps came closer.

"Hello Niklaus"

"F-Father"

* * *

"She brought back your father? I thought he other side went away. Like forever. Kaput" Alaric said

"She didn't bring back my father" Kol said grimly

"Then what…?"

"Whoever is before Niklaus now, he'll see as our father. That was what the spell did. She spelled some of his blood and made someone drink it; probably her remaining vampire helper- so he would see whoever he feared most when he looked at him. But it… its complex. Niklaus would have had to be thinking of our father at the time she cast the spell for this to have worked. And he both hated and feared our father. Why would he be thinking about him?" Elijah explained, a questioning look on his face

"But that is not the worst part…" Kol began

"There's more?" Caroline asked incredulously. "what could be worse than having your father who made your life hell and hunted you for a thousand years and who you killed, I might add, suddenly appear before you when you are helpless?"

"There is actually. I could write a whole book on things worse than that happening" Damon said, Caroline throwing him a dirty look over her shoulder

"Whatever harm is done to Niklaus, he would be doing to himself" Elijah explained

"Excuse me?"

"There is a reason why the spell causes you to see the one you fear most. The rush of memories of what they did to you before and what you imagine they'll do to you now is what happens to you"

"I don't understand"

"It means whoever Klaus is seeing as his father now doesn't have to lift a finger. He's like a puppet. Whatever Klaus remembers Mikael doing to him or what he thinks he'll do to him is what'll happen to him. It's what Jason will do to him" Bonnie explained

"You're saying that Klaus just has to remember his past punishments and they'll just start taking place again? Anything he thinks about happens physically because he's… _thinking them_?" Alaric asked, a bit confused

"Yes. When Klaus thinks of what Mikael did to him or what he's afraid he'll do, he kinda gives Jason a visual because of the blood link Adriana created, and Jason carries them out physically. Just like what imaginary Mikael is doing in Klaus' head" Damon added

Alaric's eyes widened. "That is…"

"Evil? Perverted?" Kol interrupted

"I was going to say sick but that works too" Alaric said. "My god. But he'll know eventually right? And stop thinking those thoughts?"

"It's not easy. And with the kind of hold Mikael has over Klaus, I don't think he can" Bonnie said

"Adriana is not controlling this anymore. Niklaus is. Whatever is going on in his head is what is going to happen. Adriana would probably have built in a failsafe of some kind but just to be safe we wouldn't want Niklaus to imagine my father ripping out his heart or staking him because that will be tragic. Miss Bennett…"

"Locator spell. I know. On it"

"And Bonnie, I think you'll need to go dark on this one"

"What?"

"Expression, Bonnie. It's time to reconnect"

"You don't know what you're…"

"I know you can control it. Adriana will get started on Stefan now that she has taken care of Klaus. It's what I'll do. Kill two birds with one stone. We need to find them before she breaks Niklaus too much or tortures Stefan any more. You have more raw power than any witch I've ever known and you are a Bennett. Please Bonnie" Elijah pleaded

Bonnie swallowed and looked around at the small crowd in the living room. Everyone was looking at her expectantly. She wiped her hands on her jeans and gulped audibly. She threw a look in Damon's direction. "You sure about this?"

He nodded tentatively. "It's the only way Bon. You won't get out of control. And even if you did, we'll be here to help"

She nodded shakily. "Ok. We need a contingency plan though. In case I can't reconnect"

"If you can't reconnect we'll talk to Elise again. We'll torture it out of her if we have to" Kol assured

She nodded again. Expression was powerful, and it couldn't be described as dark magic per say, but she didn't like to use it. It reminded her of Silas and the witch and human sacrifice that gifted her that power (she really didn't care that much for Klaus' hybrids), but if it meant they were getting Stefan and Klaus back from Adrianna's painful clutches then so be it. "Alright, I'm ready"

"Good" Alaric said. "But I agree with Bonnie's contingency thing. So someone needs to go talk to the witch in the basement"

"I got it" Damon said, suddenly disappearing before anyone could stop him.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. Don't sue.**_

_**Warning: This chapter contains mentions of spanking and torture.**_

* * *

"Damon wait" Caroline yelled at Damon's retreating back. She sighed when she heard a door alam in the cellar. " He's going to kill her"

"He won't" Elijah said. "He knows what is at stake. We need her. And fit all his impulsiveness I don't think Damon would end her life. He would want to take his time"

"Tryst me, that is the only thing keeping her alive, not her importance. Damon has absolute faith in Bonnie's ability to locate them. He doesn't need her. He just needs to let off some steam"

* * *

Elise startled when she heard the door opening. She hadn't seen any of them since the dark haired one with the icy blue eyes and a rather short temper had threatened her. It's been seven days now and the moat she had seen if any of them,was the flash of hands that pushed food into the room. At least she was fed. But she hadn't had any more visitors until now. She stood up from the bed and faced the door, wishing for the zillionth time that she had her magic. Ever since their witch had suspended her magic, she was yet to het I back. _That witch was really powerful_, she grudgingly accepted, though one would not know by simply looking at her. The door opened and she groaned internally. It was Mr. Icy Blue eyes and short temper again. She prepared herself for the war of words she was sure they were going to have.

"Adriana has my brother and I need to know where she has taken him"

Oh ok. No word war today. She smiled sweetly at him and said in her thick French accent. "They must be having a lot of fun with him right now. I guess I'll just have to wait my turn"

Damon's eyes flashed with anger for a second, the with a very malicious smirk he said, "Oh you haven't heard. There's no 'them' anymore. I killed Celeste and I'm going to kill Adriana with or without your help"

Elise's eyes widened momentarily before she schooled her features. " Adriana will to come for me and I am going to have so much fun with your _petit frère _(**little brother**)" she spat

Damon laughed. "Adriana took Stefan here, from the house. You get that? She was here in the house and she had eyes only for my brother and Klaus. She doesn't care about you. She knew we had you but she still left you behind. No one's coming to rescue you Sabrina, atop being so damn naive. She and her sister, they didn't love you. They just wanted your magic. Do you even know how long they've lived? They just needed your magic to keep themselves young, like they've been doing to other witches. So wake up Elise. You're on your own"

Elise was so dumbfounded her brain failed to register that it was th first time damon had called her by name. Her mouth opens and close like a fish out of water. "Y-you are l-lying. They'll come for me. She'll come for me" she stuttered out

"I'm not lying and you know it. My mother was Adriana's first victim. She couldn't bear children so she took my mothers magic while she was pregnant so she could have babies even though she knew it would kill her. And my mother was her best friend. She has kept herself alive all these years by stealing others magic and she will take yours too if you go running back to her"

Elise looked green. "S-she killed a pregnant witch?" She whispered, looking like she was about to hurl.

Damon saw the emotions dancing across her face and went in for the kill. "Yea. Without blinking"

"And the child? It died too?"

"No it didn't. I saved him and now Adriana has him and I'm going to save him again"

"Stefan. You saved Stefan... How..."

"That story has been in demand lately and I've told it one too many times and I don't have time to tell it again. So..."

"I know where she is" she cut in, looking Damon squarely in the eye.

* * *

Caroline came blurring down the stairs after having disappeared shortly after Damon left. "Is Damon back? Is the girl dead? Bonnie have you found Stefan and Klaus? Where..."

"Ok barbie, enough with the twenty questions. I didn't kill anyone and our little friend is very much alive"

"You do know I'm the same age as your _little_ witch right?"

"Uh uh. Bon-bon's way out of your league"

"Je ne sais il (**Don't I know it)"** a voice muttered darkly.

Caroline looked around incredulously. "ooookkkkaaaayyy. Looks like we're all friends now. Yay"

"You're different fe ok m the other vampires I've encountered. None as smug and annoying as Blue Wyes over there" Caroline giggled and Bonnie snorted into one I the now constantly open grimoires. Even Elijah failed to hide a laugh behind a cough. "none who would go to a sure bloodbath in that pristine suit" Damon smirked at Elijah "and absolutely no one goes to battle with makeup and Gucci boots. Love the boots by the way" Kol practically fell over with laughter while Bonnie tried -and failed - to not laugh at her best friend's incredulous expression.

"All I'm saying is" Elise continued. "I know you're not saints and you'll probably kill me when this is over but you're not all bad either. You're nothing like the ones that killed my family. They were ruthless and mean and..."

"How do we know you're not going to leas us into a trap? That you're not still loyal to Adriana?"

Elise sighed deeply. "Blue Eyes said Adriana killed a pregnant witch so she could have a child. The ortus ritualis is the most frowned upon practice among witches"

"Ortus ritualis?" Bonnie asked, confused

"It was an ancient ritual of fertility. A witch who couldn't give birth would take the magic of another witch who was pregnant. It was meant to ne cast between two consenting parties. There was no safeguard that it couldn't be used in an unwilling person but the way the spell is cast makes it almost impossible to use in an unwilling participant" Elise explained. "It was originally cast by a witch almost 2000 years ago- before your existence" she said, gesturing to Elijah and Kol. "Her sister couldn't have children so she created the spell to help. Since she already had three children, she gladly sacrificed her magic during the pregnancy of her fourth child ao hr sister could also know the joys of motherhood. This witch, she cast the spell our of love for her sister. There was no malicious intent and there was no harm done . Over the years it was used by various other witches -all if them either sisters ir really good friends-and everyone was happy with the outcome, until the younger of twin sisters in 13th century France cast the spell on her sister without her consent. She had pleaded with her older sister -who had two children -to perform the ortus ritualis but she refused. She said she needed her magic to protect her children. After quite some time of pleading with her, the younger stopped. Then her sister was taken ill suddenly. She may in bed fir weeks getting weaker and weaker and then she finally died. She died while being pregnant with her third child and almost a year later her barren younger twin as nursing a baby"

"she killed her sister" Caroline stared matter-of-factly

Elise nodded. "Though it was never proven. It was the only way she could perform,the ortus rutualis without her sister's willingness. She was weak and bedridden and there was nothing she could have done to stop it. That was the first time the spell had been used wrongly and selfishly. After that one time more deaths were recorded anytime someone participated in the ortus ritualis. Not all witches had good friends or nice loving sisters so what they couldn't get through consent, they took by force. And to take away a witches magic is nigh impossible, especially one that is carrying a child"

"So they had to make them weak physically" Kol said

Elise nodded again. "And almost no pregnant witch made it". She looked at Damon. "Adriana knew perfectly well what she was doing. She knew your mother won't survive. And if she could so that to her best friend..."

"There's no telling what she'll do to Stefan" Damon concluded somberly

* * *

Stefan looked up blearily at the person who had woke him from his half sleep. Forgetting the brutal strapping he had endured -_a couple of hours ago?- _he scrambled back in the bed when Adriana's face swam into focus. He bit back a pained whimper that action caused and glared hatefully at her.

She smirked at him, unperturbed at the cold response. "A true Salvatore. Your stubbornness is truly endearing" she taunted. "Ready for round two?" She asked Stefan with a wink.

Despite his best efforts, Stefan could not help the little whimper that forced its way out of his throat. So he was scared-sue him. It was unlikely Adriana heard though. She may have been a centuries year old witch but she was still human and it was too low for her to hear. But that did nothing for Stefan's frayed nerves.

"You can come with me now or I can make you". Stefan cranked up the ice in his gaze. "Your stubbornness is so stupid sometimes" she dais as she muttered two short words under her breath. "_ignis dolor" _

Stefan gasped. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he clutched the thin sheets on the bed with a death grip. The white hot pain running through his body was none he had felt before. It was like he was burning from the inside out and it went on and on and on. Adriana's smug gave suddenly blurred as reflexive tears pooled in his eyes. A strangled sob caught in his throat...and suddenly the pain was gone. He sagged into the bed with relief as he angrily swiped at his cheeks.

"That was approximately 20 seconds. Would you come with me now or should we try for five minutes?" He heard her ask as he continued to gulp in lungful's of air. Adriana's face shoed irritation immediately it became clear that Stefan was more interested in recovering from her first round of pain than being worried about the second. Je was wasting time. She needed to be done quickly so she could leave this blasted town behind. She huffed and spoke one word, then grabbed Stefan's leg and dragged him the short distance to the next room.

Stefan felt once again like ak outsider in his body as Adriana dragged hum into the next room,and placed him in a chair. He didn't even notice the chair had straps until he felt them locked around his wrists and lifted the paralysis spell when she was satisfied that the straps will hold and Stefan shifted slightly in the chair- partly from wary anticipation and partly from the pain still radiating in his behind. He watched as Adriana flitted about, adding finishing touches here and there. Finally, when she was satisfied that all was in order, she stood in front of Stefan, her different coloured blue eyes boring into his green ones.

"Ok" she breathed. "Let's begin, shall we? No I know you are probably confused about all this but its simple really. You're going to give me your magic" she stated

Despite the dire situation he was in, Stefan burst into laughter. "In case you haven't noticed Brunhilda, I'm a vampire. I don't have magic. And even if I did I wouldn't hive it to you"

"Oh but you do _Mon Amie_, and you will. Your mother was a powerful witch, and the potential your brother displayed when he was very young was astounding. So I know for a fact that you were born a warlock"

"Yeah?" Stefan sneered. "And how would you know that? You killed my mother while I was still inside her"

Adriana balked a little. "That was unfortunate"

"Unfortunate?" Stefan snarled. "she was your best friend"

"**AND SHE HAD A CHILD**" Adriana screamed. "Her little raven. Alessandro may have died but she had Damon. Beautiful blue eyed Damon. And she was pregnant with you. She had it all. An extremely wealthy husband who loved and doted on her, a perfect little boy and another on the way. All I wanted was a child to call my own. I was going to ask her to perform the ortus ritualis with me but something came up and I had to return to France"

"You honestly thought she would willingly give away her fertility?"

Adriana chuckled wetly. "The ortus ritualis is a fertility ritual but no one loses their fertility. She had to give me her magic while she was pregnant. She could still have children if she wanted to, she just wouldn't have magic. But I left and by the time I returned to Mystic Falls , she was sick with consumption. She was going to die anyway, there was no cure, so I thought..."

"You thought you could take advantage of her sickly state and steal her magic" Stefan stated coldly, angrily blinking away tears. "It was the only thing keeping her alive. She would have died long before then. But she kept herself alive with magic. She could have lived, but you killed her. You took her away from me" he yelled, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer.

Adriana suddenly turned cold again as she rounded on Stefan. "She never would have lived. Which begs the question, how **_did_** you survive? No child has survived the ortus ritualis since the 13th century except you. I completed the ritual. Your mother died. So should you. But here you are. Whatever it was that kept you alive just made you extra special amd the right person for this. Your magic would be very potent"

* * *

"what you're saying is Damon's magical saving of Stefan at birth did _what_ exactly?" Alaric asked

"Stefan was supposed to die. Today he may have been saved by science but in the 1800s dead pregnant woman equals dead baby. Damon made the ultimate sacrifice and saved Stefan's life"

"I thought the ultimate sacrifice was death" Caroline intoned

"It is" Elise agreed

"Damon's not dead" she continued

"No he's not. But for Stefan to be alive Damon had to have died, even if just for a second. And someone brought him back. That would make Stefan how do you say uh, more stronger"

"How do you know all this?" Bonnie asked. "You're 18"

Elise chuckled. "I've been learning magic and everything about it since I learned how to speak. It is required in my family" she said sadly. "We better get started if we're going to save your petit frère from a horrible fate, no?"

There was a chorus od 'yes' and 'of course' and 'sure' as they made their way to the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries. They belong to L.J Smith and the CW_**

**_Warning: Contains mentions of spanking_**

* * *

"Gone?"

"Yes" Elise said simply, her voice echoing in the empty house. "Their presence here is faded. They left days ago. She was never going to come back for me" she added dejectedly

"I'm sorry Elise, but we're running out of time" Kol said, not unkindly. "Do you have any idea where they are now?"

Elise shook her head. "No. we were only here for two days before the… incident at the school. I don't know where they could have moved to" she said with an apologetic look

Damon cursed and kicked a chair angrily

"Damon, calm down. We'll find them" Elijah said

Damon scoffed. "Of course we'll find them. After they're dead. Adrianna is not Stefan too. Uh-uh. Not on my watch"

"Stefan's not dying. Not today. And not Klaus too. We have to stay positive" Caroline said

"Positive?" Kol laughed. "There's nothing positive about this situation Caroline. The longer it takes to find them, the greater the possibility of finding them in less than par condition. We are standing in an empty house, with a witch who may or may not be on our adversary's side and you think we should stay positive? How do we know little miss know-it-all here didn't bring us here on purpose?"

"Kol" Elijah began

"No Elijah. How do we know that she's not still working with Adrianna and this is not a part of some bigger evil plan?"

"I don't think it's a plan…"

"You really should calm down Kol…"

"She sounded genuine…"

Everyone started talking at once and no one was listening to anyone. The doors and windows suddenly swung open as a gust of wind blew into the house. The suddenness of it shocked everyone into silence and they turned to look at the only person in the room who could be responsible.

"This is not the time for petty squabbles and doubts we know Adrianna's bad news. We know she's hurting Stefan and Klaus. We know we have to get them back. We know she was here and now she's gone. It's time for another plan. So we are going o go home and make one" she paused. "Ok?"

A chorus of _oks_ and _alrights_ and _mmhmms_ greeted her question.

"Good. Then let's get out of here"

* * *

Stefan collapsed back into the chair and fought to catch his breath. Tears spilled over his cheeks and he trembled violently. His voice had long since gone hoarse from screaming and his eyes were clenched tight in pain. He opened them and peered at Adrianna as she paced. She stopped suddenly and turned to face Stefan.

"Again"

Stefan whimpered as she started to mutter the spell that he has since become familiar with. Before he was ready-not that he would ever be- his body lifted up in an arch-the only thing keeping him from falling to the ground was the chains-as the pain hit him again. He had never wanted to pass out so badly before. His ears and nose started to bleed as his pain filled body passed even its vampiric endurance. He felt the coppery taste of blood at the back of his throat a split second before he coughed it up and it dribbled down his chin. If this went on a little longer, Adrianna was going to discover a way to kill a vampire without staking them as he felt like he was dying. He felt himself drop back into the chair but his body still shook so violently it was almost as if he was seizing. Stefan was so out of it he didn't notice Adriana leave.

Adrianna stumbled out the door, closing it behind her as she simultaneously wiped blood from her nose. Stefan was _truly_ special. She could feel his dormant magic and she was sure if she pushed harder she could reach it. But it was taking all her strength. She needed more power and she knew exactly where to get it.

* * *

Klaus curled up miserably in one corner of the room, his mouth opening and closing in ragged breaths. He had been cut loose from the chains that held him up. If his dead father's return hadn't scared the defiance out of him, the vervain and wolfs bane soaked whip that lashed across his back repeatedly certainly did. Next came a verbal tongue lashing that his father was rather good at doling out. Somewhere in his muddled brain he remembered seeing his father burn with a white oak stake protruding from his chest. A kick to the ribs that sent him flying into a wall effectively prevented him from dwelling from those thoughts. If only he knew that single line of thought could have broken the spell. His mind went back to that time when he had been carving wooden animals while he was supposed to feed the horses. The beating father had given him for that was so severe he actually thought he was going to die. Wait… was it just him or did father just turn up the strength he was punishing him with? Might be good to not think about that past transgression. He wouldn't want to make father angrier

"F-father please. I'll…" he couldn't remember what he had done to deserve a beating such as this. "I w-won't do it ag-again. P-please" he offered instead. That was good, right? Well it seemed to have worked because father was no longer hitting him. Klaus' shoulders sagged in relief.

Jason was momentarily confused when he didn't seem to be controlled by Klaus' thoughts anymore. He looked up and saw Adrianna in the doorway. Huh, that explained it. She probably stopped the spell.

"That's enough Jason. I think he's been punished enough. Besides I need him for something else" she whispered something to him so low even Klaus enhanced hearing couldn't catch it. Not that he was trying to. He was trying to breathe through the pain his not-so-dead father had visited upon him.

Klaus glared at Adrianna, though with tear tracks all over his face and red rimmed tear filled eyes, it was hardly effective. "W-where is my f-father?"

"He had to step out for a little bit. You really pissed him off didn't you" Adrianna said

"I d-didn't mean t-to. I was… he's… dead. I remember. I killed him. Then how is he here?" Klaus rambled. "You. You brought him back. And you took Stefan, and Rebekah… what is happening to me?"

"Your father is not dead Klaus, he just stepped outside. Maybe I should call him back so you can tell him that you 'killed' him"

"No-no. Don't. Please don't" Klaus pleaded quickly. "But…the fire… I saw it… and the horses… Rebekah was burning… and…"

"So maybe I muddled the spell a bit. It'll be a while before he'll probably get back to normal. His father must have had a really tight hold on him" she said as Jason stepped beside her. She looked at him. "Is it ready?" Jason nodded. "Good. Bring him"

* * *

Stefan blinked tear crusted eyes open warily as Adrianna stepped back into the room. A cold fear settled at the back of his spine as he felt whatever was coming would be far worse than anything he has felt before. He was so drained he couldn't even whimper in fear. He watched as Jason placed Klaus in a circle-_when had they made that_-surrounded by candles. Klaus looked terrible but Stefan didn't think anyone- human or vampire- looked and felt as terrible as himself. The simple act of following Jason with his eyes as he positioned Klaus properly seemed to have taken the last of his strength and his eyes slipped shut.

With a low _incendia_ under her breath, Adriana brought the candles to life and Klaus gasped as he felt pain that was not brought on by any beating. It felt more bone deep, like someone was pulling away at his very core. Adrianna watched as the panic on his face wore off as the spell desiccated him. The pain would still be there. He just won't be able to manifest it. But Adrianna could care less. All she was interested in was his strength. She started to channel Klaus.

Stefan's body reacted immediately when Adrianna begun again, except this time round it felt different. Stronger. His eyes flew open and he saw why. Adrianna's arm was outstretched towards him while she knelt beside Klaus and lay the other hand we his leg. _Oh_, that explained where this new surge came from. The low groan he gave when he felt various cuts start to appear on his body was lost in the cacophony of screams. His skin split painfully as Adriana tried to crank up the pain to further weaken him. Stefan couldn't take anymore. As a matter of fact he had lost the ability to control his body a long time ago. His body just reacted to the pain as it saw fit. And now it felt it couldn't go on as it slumped in blessed unconsciousness.

"No. No. No. No. No. I'm not done. I can feel it. Almost. Get up. Get him up, Jason" Adrianna rambled. Tried as Jason might though, the teenage vampire just wouldn't wake. "No. This is not supposed to happen. He can't just pass out on me. No!" She frustratingly flung a couple of candles into the wall, effectively breaking the spell that enabled her to channel Klaus.

He opened his eyes with a gasp and tried to get up, turning his head and seeing Stefan. "S-Stefan" he gasped

"What is wrong with him?" Adrianna demanded. "Vampires don't just pass out" she addressed Klaus, unafraid of his wakeful state

Klaus pushed himself to his knees. "W-where is my f-father?"

Adrianna huffed. "Forget your father. Tell me what's wrong with him?"

He looked at Stefan. "He can't handle human blood. When he tries to feed, he rips them apart. So he feeds on animal instead. It keeps him alive but he's considerably weaker than the rest of us. He doesn't heal as fast too. So..."

"... So when I punished him earlier and he bled during our session, he didn't heal, and the cuts right now drained him of what little life force he had left" Adrianna finished. "Surprising" she noticed Jason take a couple of wary steps back. "What is it?"

"He's the ripper"

Adrianna scoffed. "Come on Jason. He's just a boy. Even if he is what you think he is, I doubt he could hurt anyone in his state. He's passed out" she tried to placate. "Get him some blood. We need to finish this and leave this godforsaken town". With that she left the room.

* * *

Alaric watched warily as Damon hauled several cases from the basement. "I thought you said you had a plan. What does the boxes have to do with it?"

"They're for you" Damon answered as he opened one of the cases.

Alaric gasped in amazement. "How did you even get these? These are military grade. High tech" he praised as h fingered the sniper rifle. "And what do you mean they're for me?"

"I have all the weapons I need" Damon said, running his tongue over his fangs. "Bonnie's got a combination of three different sets of magic" as if on cue, the fire went out in the fireplace and came back on immediately. Alaric resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "And Elijah here, well, don't even get me started. These..." Alaric gaped as he watched Damon assemble all the pieces in seconds. "...are a contingency plan. Adrianna has been siphoning magic for almost two centuries. There's no doubt she'll be formidable. In the very unlikely circumstance that we can't take her down, I want you to shoot her" he stated plainly. "Adrianna's not leaving here alive" he added coldly.

"MIT? Now high tech weapons?" Alaric asked, mildly impressed

"I was bored" Damon said simply, shrugging

"We don't even know where she is" Alaric continued. "What if I set this up somewhere and she's in the opposite direction?"

Damon was about to answer when Bonnie suddenly jumped. She looked at the expectant faces staring at her. "You remember that spell I cast over the house to keep out vampires when we thought Adrianna was one of Ester's followers bent on your annihilation?" They nodded. "I just felt someone bump into it. It could be a new vampire in own or..."

"... Adrianna's remaining vampire helper" Elijah intoned, and then he was off

Jason shook his head to clear the dark spots after he bumped into...nothing. He looked quizzically at the seemingly empty space before him. Adrianna had asked him to hunt some animal for Stefan. She wanted him awake but not strong enough to cause any real problems so animal blood it was. He had been searching and had not noticed how far into the forest he was going until he had bumped into the invisible wall. He knew the vampires put a barrier on their house but that was miles away. He was just about to turn around and go elsewhere when he felt a sharp pain in his neck and then everything went far.

* * *

"I've never appreciated how big the property is until now" Bonnie said as she looked at the man chained in the chair.

"How big is it anyway? Because Jason heard you when you were planning on putting up a barrier. He wouldn't come anywhere close" Elise asked

"It stretches about three miles. The house is in the middle" Damon answered

Elise nodded. "Oh. That's pretty huge. He wouldn't know he was getting close"

"How long until he wakes up? We need him to tell us where she's keeping Klaus and Stefan before they are moved again" Alaric said

Elise shook her head. "I don't think so. When Adrianna moved the first time, she had two days to prepare and help from Jason and Ivan. And even then she didn't move camp immediately or there wouldn't be faint traces of their presence to find. This time Ivan's dead and Jason's...well, not home. She wouldn't be able to move even if she wanted to. Apart from the town not being that familiar, she doesn't have the physical strength to move Stefan and Klaus"

"Yes. But we still need him to tell us where she's keeping Stefan and Klaus" Elijah said, just as Jason started to stir awake. He opened his eyes sluggishly, jerking upright when he suddenly realized where he was.

"Where are Stefan and Klaus?" Kol asked without preamble. Jason just smiled at them and kept his mouth shut. Kol gave a low growl and pushed his hand into his chest, gripping his heart and squeezing. Jason wheezed, a look of fear momentarily flashing across his face, but still keeping his mouth shut. Kol gripped harder and all but pulled out his heart, only for Elijah to step in and pull him away. "'Lijah, what are you doing?"

"You're going to kill him Kol. We need him alive to tell us where they are, not dead"

"I am **trying** to find them Elijah. You understand that, don't you? We won't find them by playing nice. Get out of my way or I will move you" he threatened

"I understand that the events of the last few days have had their toll on you and you're grieving, but I would not condone this disrespect. You remember what happened a few weeks ago? I will not hesitate to throw you over my knee and spank the disrespect out of you. Upstairs. Now"

Kol blushed as he was scolded in front of everyone, who were trying hard not to acknowledge that they had heard, especially the sp-punishment part. He deflated as the defiance seeped out of him and blurred upstairs.

"Now, about that location" Damon brought everyone's mind back to the present.

Jason laughed. "I would never tell you. You could torture it out of me, but you don't have time. The young one doesn't look too good. And if I don't return in about an hour, she'll know something's wrong and she'll kill them and leave town. I can assure you that you'll never see her again" he said with a manic smile. "There's nothing anyone can do about it. Even your baby witch can't help you. Adrianna would just absorb her phony magic like everyone else's. Probably has absorbed a lot of her ancestors already. It will be like desert"

Damon gnashed his teeth angrily and blurred over to Jason, probably to inflict some pain, but found himself suddenly sailing through the air. He got back up quickly to see Bonnie stride calmly to their prisoner. When she spoke though, her voice was anything but calm.

"I think there is a lot I can do about it" she said coldly as she placed both hands on Jason's temple. Elise flinched as Jason screamed for a few seconds before slump into the chair when Bonnie removed her hands. When he lifted his head she could see blood seeping from his nose.

"You bitch" Jason snarled. "You may be stronger than I thought but you're still no match for Adrianna. She's going to gobble you up like cake"

"Since you're not going to tell us anything useful, I don't think you need your mouth" Bonnie continued coldly, placing one hand over Jason's mouth and sealing it shut. The other people in the room looked on shocked, with the exception of Elijah, whose calm mask never slipped, and Damon, who had a smirk dancing across his lips. "On second thoughts, I don't think you need theses as well" she said as she placed her hands on his ears, sealing them shut as well, and then finally his eyes, inwardly grinning at the frightened look in them before she sealed them off too.

"Holy crap, Bonnie" Caroline whispered in shock

"How did you do that?" Elise asked in the same soft bewildered voice

"How do we get anything from him now?" Alaric asked

"Don't worry. I already got a location. I know exactly where they are"

* * *

Klaus picked himself up from Adrianna's magic circle slowly. The candles Adrianna had flung around in her anger had broken the spell that kept him in it and he made his way painfully over to a still unconscious Stefan. The wounds on his body protested in anger as he knelt in front of him. He slapped Stefan's face lightly. "Stefan. Hey. Stefan, come on. Open your eyes. We need to get out of here. Stefan. Oi"

Stefan however did not budge. Klaus sighed as he grabbed at the chains and hoped fervently that Adrianna had not spelled them. He heaved a sigh of relief when they broke with a little more pressure than he would have liked, slipping Stefan's arm over his shoulders and practically dragging him along. By the time they made it the short distance to the door however, he decided they were moving too slow. So amidst angrily protesting wounds and loudly creaking bones, and by sheer willpower because he was so drained he wanted nothing more than to lie down, Klaus lifted Stefan over his shoulders and quietly opened the door. Unlike the old place, this new place Adrianna had brought them to didn't have a lot of space so with a few short steps, they were out the door and in the forest. In a last ditch attempt to not succumb to his body's warnings and get dragged back to that awful place, Klaus gathered the last dregs of his rapidly waning strength, and vamp-sped further into the forest. He only made it about a mile before he and Stefan crashed painfully into the ground.

* * *

"So you can control it now? Just like that?" Caroline asked for the millionth time

"I told you Care, it just happened okay? I still don't know if I can control it or not" Bonnie responded

"But..."

"Blondie, stop bothering her already!" Damon snapped, pulling at his phone and calling Alaric. "Ric, you get a good shot of the little house?"

"I still can't believe you gave him a gun" Bonnie said

"Well, he'll be useless here anyway, so..."

"Thanks Damon"

"Anytime Ric. Now, do you have a cl..."

"Did you hear that?" Elijah suddenly cut in, standing still and staring intently into the forest. "It came from that direction" he said, veering off the path towards where he pointed, knowing the others would follow. A couple of minutes later and they came across two bodies that looked to be unconscious. Two slender bodies they knew so well. For a moment, they stood there in open-mouthed shock. And then two faint whispers rang out.

"Stefan"

"Klaus"

* * *

_So I'm feeling a bit better and i decided to try and update some of my stories. Don't know how fast they'll be coming though. Depends on how fast I recover. Anyway the bad-ass expression filled Bonnie was inspired by a scene from Grimm when Juliette sealed off someone's mouth and eyes and ears for not talking. So, reviews would probably cure me faster than the doctor's prescription so, keep them coming. And thanks for your patience._


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They are only here due to the genius of L. J Smith and the C.W. so don't sue**_

_**Warning: May contain spanking**_

* * *

Damon and Elijah rushed as one towards their prone brothers but stopped short when a sudden circle of flame erupted around them. They watched, with barely concealed rage on Damon's part, as Adriana stepped out from behind a tree, an evil smile dancing across her lips.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" she sneered at the group before her. "You're here, and Jason's not. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that you have him and he's probably dead"

"You shouldn't send a vampire to do a witches job" Damon sneered back. "Let them go"

"Or what?" Adrianna snarled. "I thought my plans were ruined when I found them gone. But now I realize there couldn't have been a better way for this to end" she spoke coldly as she and Damon circled the ring of fire, keeping each other in sight.

Just then Caroline and Bonnie burst into the clearing. Elijah and Damon had sped away at vampire speed, leaving the perky blonde to lead the witch to their location. Adrianna's head snapped up at the new arrivals. "Oh look, more spectators. Well, what do they say, the more the merrier anyway"

"Let. Them. Go"

Elijah could swear the temperature dropped a few degrees, even though he couldn't exactly feel it, when Bonnie spoke. Adrianna chuckled bemusedly, not breaking eye contact with Damon. "What is it with the repetition? Your friends are not very original are they?"

"You cannot keep that flame burning forever witch. We could just wait you out. We have nothing but time" Elijah said in a faux calm voice

"I said LET THEM GO" Bonnie said again, raising her arms toward Adrianna as cold winds blew though the small clearing. Adrianna's hand flew towards her throat, trying desperately to gulp in some air as Bonnie slowly strangled her. The flame she had burning around Klaus and Stefan died down considerably as she couldn't keep it burning and escape Bonnie's clutches at the same time. In a last ditch attempt to stay alive, she reached an arm out and broke off a branch, positioning it directly over Stefan's heart.

"You m-may ha-have all the time in the wor-world b-but he does-doesn't" she rasped

"NO" Damon screamed. Bonnie, let her go. Please" he pleaded. Bonnie though didn't seem to hear him, just tightening her fist as Adrianna wheezed. "Bonnie. Bon please" Damon moved towards her, probably to plead more, only for Bonnie to fling him into a tree when he got too close. His grunt of pain as his back connected painfully to the tree however broke Bonnie out of whatever trance she was in. she dropped her arm and hurried over to Damon, apologizing profusely as she helped him off the ground. "We need to teach you control Bonnie" Damon wheezed. "That was expression wasn't it?" Bonnie nodded

The flames went up again suddenly as Adrianna regained enough of her strength to power it. She got up slowly, eyes never leaving the group. "So much power in such a tiny body, its amazing" she said hungrily to Bonnie. "Maybe I should take it off your hands"

"I'd like to see you try" Bonnie answered, stalking closer to her

"Oh, you'll give it to me willingly, or the young Salvatore dies. He's been passed out for almost two hours now it won't be difficult to make it permanent" she said

You are not taking my magic" Bonnie said with conviction

"Well that's too bad. I would have thought he meant more to you" Adrianna said, balling up her hand into a fist. The flame roared with new intensity and Damon, Caroline and even Elijah had to step back to avoid being burned.

Bonnie, however, stepped forward. She made a sweeping motion with her arm and the flames died instantly. Adrianna's gasp of surprise was lost in Damon's shout of distress as he saw the stake Adrianna had perched over Stefan's heart had penetrated the skin. It took a moment for him to register the fact that his little brother was not graying. He gave a watery chuckle as he realized what that meant; the branch was not yet in his heart. When he tried to pull it out however, it wouldn't budge.

Adrianna stumbled as she took a wary step back. "That is impossible. It was my flame. You shouldn't have been able to put it out"

"I told you, you couldn't have my magic. I'd have to make a choice which one to let go…" Bonnie began coldly as she moves towards her. "…spirit magic…" she broke her left knee bone. "…dark magic…" right knee bone. By now, Adrianna's screams had drawn the attention the other three Individuals in the clearing who were looking on in both interest and fear. "…Expression…" Bonnie continued, this time pulling Adrianna closer. "…and I happen to like them all" she whispered into her ears. She clenched her hand into a fist and was about to snap her neck when Adrianna yelled.

"Wait. Wait. If you kill me your friend dies. The spell keeping the branch from piercing his heart, when you tried to choke the life out of me, I felt your power so I modified the spell. Anything happens to me, he dies. So if you want him to live, you are going to have to let me go"

"Let her go, Bon. Let her go" Damon said immediately.

"If we let her go now she will disappear. There is no telling when we'll find her again. She's caused too much damage to be allowed to live" Elijah said.

"She's got a branch in Stefan's chest Elijah, just shy of his heart. She's going to kill him"

"I know Damon" Elijah said as he got up from where he had been checking Klaus over and squatted in front of Adrianna. He looked intensely at her and said "I have lived for over a thousand years and in that time I have looked into the eyes of thieves, murderers, liars and every other vermin you can think of, which is why I can say with confidence that this woman is lying. I don't even have to listen to your heartbeat. It is written all over your face. Even if we let you go, you would still kill Stefan"

Adrianna snarled angrily as she realized she wouldn't be set free. Breathing heavily from the pain in both broken legs, she stared squarely at Damon. "It is only fair that I take your brother from you. After all, you did the same to me". Before Damon or Elijah could comprehend what was happening, she mumbled a spell under her breath and Stefan started to gray before Damon's startled eyes.

"NO" he yelled. "Oh God no no no no no. Oh God. Oh God. Stefan. Stefan. Come on Stef. Oh no. oh God. Oh God" Damon muttered over and over. Elijah's eyes went wide, finally breaking that calm disposition he always had. Caroline had a hand clasped over her mouth to stifle her gasp. Bonnie just looked aghast. "What did you do? What did you do?" Damon asked in a daze

Adrianna cackled gleefully, about to make some sarcastic comment when the bright sun hanging over Mystic Falls suddenly disappeared. The cloud dimmed rapidly as the wind picked up speed. She turned around confusedly at the rapid change in weather. It was almost pitch black in the clearing now and only the vampires could still see. Caroline's mouth flew open as she saw Bonnie raise her arm slowly. She didn't look anything like her best friend as her pupils disappeared and her face became blank. The whites of her eyes glowed menacingly in the dark as her hair blew about her face in the strong winds. There was no doubt she was causing whatever was happening. She looked like something out of a horror movie and when she spoke, her voice dripped blood. This was bonnie in the deepest throes of expression.

"You are a disgrace to witches everywhere. At least one good thing can come out of your death. All that stolen magic would go back into the earth. Mother Nature would be satiated. You disgust me"

Caroline could see blood spewing from Adrianna's nose, mouth, eyes and ears and realized that Bonnie wanted to kill her slowly. "Bonnie" she whispered. "Bonnie stop this" she said in a louder voice, all tp no avail. Bonnie was too far gone.

A loud shot suddenly rang out, enough to break Bonnie's concentration. Slowly the weather returned to normal and Caroline saw Alaric with a gun pointed upards. Elijah had been shielding Klaus and Damon was still sobbing over Stefan. Caroline didn't think he even noticed what had just happened. It took a few seconds for Bonnie's eyes to focus and she stared around.

"Did I… did I do this?" she asked shakily

"What the hell Bonnie? You almost took out half the town. You did take out my car. I had to walk the rest of the way here. With a flashlight" Alaric said

"I'm sorry. It's just… after what she did to Stefan…"

It wasn't until then that Alaric saw Damon hunched over a gray looking Stefan. "Oh God. Is he…"

A wet chuckle was heard from Adrianna. You have to kill me twice already witch. You don't have the stomach for it" she sneered

"They say the third time's a charm" a cold dark voice said. Everyone turned around to see Damon stand to his feet, a look of pure unadulterated hatred on his face as he stared icily at Adrianna. He raised his arm toward her. "_**Caeli desuper, natura vestra. Sentire vim dolores fac. Pascile qui indignatione urorem meum in die festo. Fac me non esse inimicum**_"

"What is he doing?" Caroline whispered. "He can't do magic"

They watched with wide eyes as Adrianna gave an inhuman screech and her skin started to melt off. It was gruesome and no doubt painful, if her screams were anything to go by.

"Apparently he can" Elijah mused

"Impossible" Bonnie muttered

"Oh my God" Caroline and Alaric whispered simultaneously

As if they were rooted to the spot, they watched as gradually Adrianna's screams lessened and then stopped altogether, though Damon still had yet to put his arm down. After about half a minute of eerie silence, Damon's arm finally came down. His eyes rolled into his head and he crumbled o the ground.

"What just happened?" Caroline asked no one in particular

* * *

_We all know vamps can't do magic. So please no flames. Just let me indulge my fantasy. Oh and, please read and review_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They are the property of LJ Smith and the CW**_

_**Warning: Contains a few torture scenes**_

* * *

"It's been three days. Shouldn't they be awake?"

"There's nothing wrong with them physically, except Damon of course. Even Klaus is all healed up. They should be awake. But Stefan has been through a lot of pain in the past couple of days and Adrianna practically raped Klaus mind. The best we've got out of him so far are whimpers and groans during the throes of whatever nightmarish events are taking place in his head. And Stefan, well, he's not willing to get out of the serene place he finds himself now. Only one person can pull him out…"

"…and that person is Damon, who doesn't have the will to get up because he thinks Stefan is dead. Chicken and egg, anyone?" A nervous chuckle, and then "Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood"

"I also need Damon awake so I can restore the balance. There's no telling what the consequences of his actions are going to be"

A groan. Bright lights. Hushed whispers. Mother of all headaches. "Damon. Are you awake? Come on Damon; let's see those lovely baby blues'

"Did you just call my eyes lovely, Medea?"

Bonnie huffed a laugh. "You're okay. He's okay" she said to Elise before turning back to Damon. "How do you feel?"

"Like road kill. My heads killing me"

"Forcing magic out of a magic dormant body will do that to you" Bonnie said.

"I…what?"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Elijah asked. He had come downstairs as soon as he heard Damon groan, leaving Klaus for Kol and Caroline to fawn over

"We found Stefan and Klaus. Stefan died… holy crap, Stefan died. Where is his body? I want to see him. Bonnie, we have to do some…"

"Relax, Damon. Stefan's okay"

"…thing to bring… wait, what?"

"Stefan is fine. Well, not exactly fine but he's alive"

"Alive? But…"

"It was a split second decision. I didn't even know it worked until…"

"What are you talking about, Bon?"

"I saw it in her eyes, before she spoke about it. I knew she was going to kill Stefan regardless. So I moved Stefan into Klaus body. He's still alive. I returned him to his own body but he's gone through hell at Adrianna's hands and is not willing to wake up" Bonnie explained

Damon looked immensely relieved. "I could kiss you right now, Bonnie. Where is he? I wanna see him…" Damon scrambled to get up, only to fall painfully on his face

"Hey, take it easy bud" Alaric said, having also come down sometime during Bonnie's explanation. He helped Damon into a chair. "Mother Nature's kinda pissed at you at the moment"

Damon leaned back groggily into the chair. "When isn't she?"

"Well, she's more angry than usual, Mr. Salvatore" Elijah said. "Damon, what you did, it's not normal. There are going to be consequences"

"What exactly did I do that is so wrong Elijah?" he asked, eyes drooping shut

"You killed Adrianna" Elijah began

"Shocker"

"With magic" he concluded

Damon's eyes flew open and he was suddenly more alert. "What!?"

Alaric nodded. "Yea. You went all Darth Vader on her. It was pretty impressive"

"B-but I can't… I mean… it's impossible" Damon stuttered

"Yea. It's supposed to be. That's why… there's…" he gestured to his face

Damon touched his face tentatively, his hands coming away with blood. "I'm having nosebleeds" he stated incredulously

"You've been having them for three days now. And almost coughed up a lung too"

"Ugh. Mother natures a bitch' Damon groaned. "Well, can you help me to Stefan's room? I really need to make sure he's alive"

"Sure, of course" Alaric responded, scooping Damon up into his arms in a bridal carry.

"W-what are you doing?" Damon sputtered. "I said help me, not Disney princess carry…"

"Oh but why the fuss Cinderella?" Alaric chuckled. "How do you think I got you home the first time?"

"The first… oh God, you're never going to make me live it down, are you?" Damon groaned

"Nope" Alaric laughed heartily**  
**

* * *

Damon frowned when he found Stefan lying in the bed. He looked small, and young. The rational part of his brain told him that nothing had changed. As vampires, they could neither lose nor gain weight, except when they desiccated of course, and Stefan was the same as he had always been. But still, he looked smaller in the large bed. Damon settled himself beside him on the bed.

"Hey Stef. You know this sleeping beauty thing you have going on here is fooling no one. You'll still be grounded for crashing the car but if you wake up now, I might let you off the hook". _Silence_. "Okay, how about this? I'll but you a new car, any kind you want, and you won't have to go to school far a week if you wake up". _Silence_. "I know Adrianna was a big meanie, but hey, she's gone now and I promise… I promise I won't allow anyone to ever hurt you again. Come on Stefan, help a guy out here please" Damon pleaded. When Stefan still remained unresponsive, he sighed. He knew what he had to do, and he also knew he wasn't strong enough, but this was Stefan and when it came to Stefan, he never thought rationally. He settled himself behind Stefan, cradling him in his arms, as he entered into his consciousness. Taking a moment to familiarize himself, he realized he was in their mansion, in 1863. He could see the maids milling bout, busier that ever, preparing for some party of sorts. His father was no where to be seen. Then it hit him. He remembered this day. It was the day he returned from the war. His father had grudgingly thrown him a dinner party because he was a Salvatore and it was expected. Another thing clicked in his head. He knew exactly where Stefan was. He went up to his room and truly, there was 1863 Stefan being hugged fiercely by 1863 Damon. Stefan had been sleeping in Damon's room since he left for war and had been overjoyed when he returned. It was one of the happiest days of Damon's life. He turned and saw Stefan in the corner, watching the scene with happiness. He could understand why Stefan chose this memory. Now he just had to convince him to wake up in 2013. He had to make him realize that his safety, his happiness, his Damon was waiting for him there.

Elijah and Alaric rushed into the room at the sound of Damon's wet coughs, Bonnie, Caroline and Kol close behind them. Alaric climbed onto the bed and pried Damon from Stefan. He was a sight to behold. Face full of blood and throwing up more. Alaric pulled him to the ground.

"What did you do Damon, you moron. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he admonished

Damon spat out the blood pouring from his mouth and leaned against Alaric to get a better view of the bed, and Stefan, who was stirring awake. "Stefan, hey. 'Bout time you woke up"

Elijah sat beside the younger Salvatore. "How are you feeling Stefan?"

"W-What happened? Where am I? Why am I so tired? Where's Damon…" Stefan mumbled blearily, more asleep than awake

Bonnie walked to the bed. "It's okay Stefan. Go to sleep. Everything will be fine" she coaxed, moving it along with a spell muttered under her breath. Stefan went boneless in sleep. Bonnie turned towards the others. "He's just sleeping now. He can wake up anytime. Whatever Damon did worked"

"Speaking of which" Alaric broke in. "Do you think you can do the spell now? I don't know how long he can withstand this" he said, gesturing to a weak Damon.

"Yes, I guess so. But I need pure blood; from the veins. I need a knife…" Kol disappeared and reappeared a second later with a kitchen knife. "…and I need him outside"

"Done" Elijah said as he lifted Damon and blurred with him outside, and Damon didn't even have the strength to snark about the bridal carry. **  
**

* * *

Bonnie's spell was grueling, to say the least. Apart from the fact that there was no known spell for something like that because it was impossible and therefore hadn't happened before, there was also the fact that Damon was a vampire and definitely not one of Mother Nature's favorite species, and he had dared to channel the earth itself for the spell he cast. Long matters short, Mother Nature was not very forgiving. Liz thought the only reason it worked was because, well Bonnie was the one casting the spell-she had learned very early on in their supernatural drama that the Bennett line of witches were not to be trifled with and were some kind of witchy superstars- and Adrianna had been something of a witchy black sheep. When it was over, they were left with a whimpering, bloody, pliant Damon, who looked so pale Caroline swore she could see his veins through his skin, and an almost unconscious Bonnie. Since they were trying to plead with the earth, she used spirit magic, which was considered one of the purest of all magic and even though was powerful, took a lot out of the user. It wouldn't do to go before Mother Nature herself with dark magic or worse yet, expression, though the fact that she allowed both meant she accepted on some level their usage but it was all too confusing to think about so Alaric stopped dwelling on it. Bonnie was, thankfully, human so after having Elise triple check that there was nothing wrong with her supernaturally- and even physically except exhaustion-at which point four pairs of eyes had glared at her and one blonde had told her firmly they would let the doctor be the best judge- Alaric called Meredith Fell to check on Bonnie. Then he cleaned up an unconscious again Damon and settled him in bed, waiting patiently for his vampire healing to kick in.

Elijah was just about to change out of his dirty clothes, a result of Damon's thrashing, when a sound caught his attention and stopped him in his tracks. A glance at Kol's surprised and beaming face a split second before he blurred out of the room confirmed that he had not imagined it. He looked at Alaric's questioning face and answered the unasked question.

"Niklaus is awake" **  
**

* * *

Caroline sighed heavily as she plopped into a chair in Damon's room. With what was supposed to be a cursory glance at the raven haired vampire, who looked so small and so innocent as he was swamped by the likely very expensive sheets, she gave a watery chuckle. Alaric raised his eyebrows.

"Do I want to know?"

Another deep sigh. "Oh it's just the drama of our existence. We've been through hell and back this last few days, especially the Salvatores and the originals, and we can't even say that was the worst that has happened to us. Why can't our lives be normal, Alaric?"

Alaric took the question as it was meant to be, rhetorical. Even if it wasn't, he dint have an answer to it anyway. So he did the next best thing; changed the subject.

"How is Klaus?"

Caroline visibly deflated. "I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me"

"Caroline, he's been through hell at the hands of that psycho. The physical injuries would be fine. They are even all healed already, not even leaving scars. But what that witch did to his mind, and for someone as strong and resilient as Klaus, it's going to take some time. It's not your fault" Alaric tried to soothe.

"I know but…" she sighed again. "I just… I'm gonna check on Bonnie" she gave Alaric a weak smile and disappeared out the door. **  
**

* * *

Elijah smiled as he watched Klaus hug the life out of Kol, not that the youngest Mikaelson was complaining. It felt strange now to acknowledge Kol as their youngest when it had been Rebekah' s place for so long. His little brothers were not very physical with affection and it felt good to see Klaus hold Kol so happily. Elijah closed the door behind him and strode further into the room, sitting on the bed beside them. He pressed a light kiss into both blonde heads, relishing the feeling of having what remained of his family so close by.

"How are you feeling, Niklaus?"

"I'm fine Elijah. It's good to be home. What day is it anyway? I lost count after the second time my back was being flayed with a whip. It's quite…"

"Niklaus" Elijah stopped him in his rambling, forcing him to make eye contact. "How. Are. You. Feeling?" he asked again, more forcefully this time

Klaus visibly deflated, looking to be on the verge of tears before schooling his features back into a blank mask. He walked over to one of the window and looked out into the sunny weather outside, absentmindedly rubbing his wrists where the clamps had dug in. "What happened to the witch?" he asked quietly

"Damon killed her" Kol answered. "Melted her skin right off"

Klaus nodded. "So she suffered?"

"Greatly" Elijah answered this time, wondering slightly why he didn't ask for more details, like how Damon melted off her skin.

"Good" he spoke again, a slight waver in his voice. His body vibrated with pent up emotions as he debated with himself. Finally, he spoke. "It was horrible, 'Lijah. She got into my mind. Muddled it up so much I actually thought Mikael had come back from the grave. She twisted my brain. She… she…"

"Its okay, Niklaus, its okay" Elijah comforted, pulling his trembling frame into a hug. "Everything is going to be okay now. You should get some rest" At some protest from Klaus, he continued "I know you just woke up. I want you to try and sleep some more while I pack up"

"Pack up? For where?" Klaus asked with a little slur. Despite his protests to Elijah, he did still feel quite tired.

"We're leaving town for a while" **  
**

* * *

_I'm really sorry for not updating in a long __**long**__ time but that was doctor's orders. I'm all good now and I'm back to school so updates will come sooner. This story is almost finished anyway so… anyway please read and review._


	20. Chapter 20

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith and the CW. I don't make any money from them**_

* * *

When Alaric woke a second time from his vigil beside Damon's bed, he found Stefan sprawled beside his brother. He was ashamed to admit that he had neither heard nor seen Stefan come in. He groaned as he rubbed a hand across his face.

"Wake him up and I'll be pleased to show you just how important a spleen is to the human body"

Alaric brightened instantly. "Damon, you bastard. You're awake"

Damon turned and glared at him, albeit playfully. "You're supposed to be looking after me, not dozing off every five minutes"

"Well I'm sorry sleeping beauty but I couldn't find someone pure enough to kiss your blackheart awake" Alaric retorted back. "You've been sleeping for almost two days"

Damon's eyes widened. 'Two days? Oh she's going to kill me" he scrambled to get out of bed, taking care not to jostle Stefan too much. "Ugh" he groaned when a wave of dizziness came over him. "Why am I still…not well?" he didn't want to use the term sick. "I thought the balance was restored or whatever crap witches think up these days"

"The balance is fine" Bonnie spoke from the doorway, a wry smile on her lips as she moved further into the room. "It was a very potent spell. Kol wrote it for me"

"Kol?" Damon asked incredulously. "I thought you were trying to save my life"

"Behave Damon. Kol was a pretty powerful witch, something of a child prodigy; much like yourself. And he knows a hell of a lot more spells than me so…" she shrugged

"That's the thanks I get for saving your sorry behind?" Kol piped up from behind Bonnie. "I told you he'll be a prick about it" he told Bonnie

"Seriously, this creeping up on people thing you and Bonnie have going on is weirding me out" Damon said, while grabbing onto Alaric's chair for support. "Where the hell is my phone?"

"Ah, Damon's awake. I thought the chaos down the hall was you" Caroline said to announce her presence

"Hey Barbie. Nice to see being at deaths door does not make you any nicer tome"

"Such a pity death was not home to open the door for you" she threw back

Damon glared at her. "So good to know that you mussed up your makeup just to come welcome me back into the land of the living dead care-bear. I feel so important. Oh wait, is that lipstick smudge not because you were in a hurry to see me?" he gave an exaggerated gasp. Caroline's face heated up as Bonnie, Kol and Alaric burst into laughter. She huffed and turned around to leave. "Say hello to Klaus for me" Damon whispered loudly, sending Bonnie and Kol into another fit of laughter

Caroline turned around again. "You know…"

"Ah here it is" Damon interrupted as he held up his phone jubilantly. Before he could turn on the screen it rang. He winced at the number as he answered. "Hello… hey Martha… it's not entirely my fa… I'm sorry… Yes… no I'm fine… I don't sound tired…I know… I'm not lying… he's asleep…no, nothing's wrong. He's just sleeping in… he's fine Martha. Truly. I took care of it… about that, 'there were some complications. The airport messed… no that won't be necessary. I'll be good…" Alaric raised his eyebrows. "… Yes… Mmmhmm…What? You called Luigi!?...I'm sorry…" Caroline sniggered. "…Yes we'll meet him in about four hours…No I don't… But it takes two hours to get to Richmond… The girls need to shop and do their nails or whatever nonsense… No I'm not disrespecting the nice ladies…" this time Bonnie laughed along with Caroline. "Yes, I know they can shop over there… Okay, we'll be on our way in three… two, okay, two hours… Yes, mom…"

"Mom?" Caroline mouthed to Bonnie, surprised

"… I love you too' Damon ended the call, and Caroline and Kol erupted into laughter

"You wanna fill us in guys? We all don't have vampire hearing you know" Alaric said

"Damon's nanny just threatened to break a wooden spoon on his ass if he wasn't a good boy" Caroline provided glibly

"And a warning about 'not raising your voice to me boy'" Kol continued. "She also said he'll be very sorry if she finds out he's lying". Alaric chuckled

"If you guys have finished rehashing my phone call, you have thirty minutes to get ready. We need to be in the sky in two hours" Damon said glumly

"We're ready. Elijah made us pack. We were just waiting for you to wake up. He was a bit cagey about the where though. After all this drama, I'm all for a vacation but I'd like to know where we are going" Bonnie said

"I've texted Elena. She and Jeremy and Matt can be here in fifteen minutes. It's just you and Stefan now. Do you think you can get ready in thirty minutes, Damon?" Caroline said. "And I'd also like to know where we are going"

"Stefan and I don't need anything from here, except his current journal" Damon said tiredly. "And if you're all ready, why don't you take your things downstairs and start loading the cars"

"Damon are you okay?" Alaric asked worriedly. "Bonnie, is this normal? Shouldn't he be, I don't know, not tired?"

"He channeled the earth itself to do magic Alaric, and he's a vampire. He's not supposed to be able to do magic at all. It's like using a rock as a sponge to soak up water and then squeezing the water out of the rock. I've restored the rock and water to their respective places but if you can squeeze a rock so hard, it gushes water, it won't go back to being a solid rock immediately you return it to its place. It needs time to reform"

"Thanks for the geography lesson Bon" Damon said snidely, annoyed at his apparent tiredness. If there was anything he loathed with passion it was appearing weak. He glanced over at Stefan's sleeping form. "Is it normal for him to still be sleeping? I mean as vampires we need very little sleep. If I have been out for almost two days and he was unconscious three days before that… how many times has he awoken Ric?"

"Apart from when you did whatever you did and brought him back from oblivion, he woke up just once and almost tore Bonnie apart. Kol had to step in and forcibly hold him down. Gradually he started to recognize his surroundings and as soon as he was lucid enough he crawled into your bed" Alaric answered

"Huh" Damon mused. "When we found them Klaus looked worse off of the both of them. Apart from the thrashing he received for trying to escape, he has almost no physical injuries"

Caroline nodded, knowing where Damon was headed." We thought so too. The punishment he received sounded serious, made even worse by the belt being soaked in vervain, but that would not bring him to this level of weakness. Whatever it was Adrianna wanted from him, whatever she did to him, it had to be internal"

Damon sighed. "Those are the worst. We need to know what she did to him that has made him so weak. We need to know if it will have repercussions, and if so, we need to know how to fix him"

"It doesn't look like we are going to find that out anytime soon" Bonnie said as she looked at the sleeping vampire. "At least not in the conventional way"

Damon looked up at that. "I don't think I'm strong enough to dive into his subconscious again yet Bonnie"

"I know. But you also realize you're not the only vampire in the house right?"

Damon shook his head vehemently. "No! Nobody is swimming around in Stefan's head. Its intrusive and creepy and… nope, not happening"

"Intrusive?" Caroline asked incredulously. "You've done it numerous times"

"I'm his older brother. I can do whatever I want to him. And I only do that to annoy him, not to go scouting for information" Damon practically sneered. "We could just ask Klaus. He was there, remember?"

"You know he was not with Stefan through all of it. He can't tell us everything we need to know. Besides, he has his own recovery to do. I don't think he's ready to be reliving that kind of nightmare" Bonnie sighed softly. 'I know you don't want anyone but you rooting in Stefan's subconscious but I also know that you'll do anything to make him better and this is the only way"

"I don't like it" Damon said quietly

"I know" Bonne replied

"Well, who's going to do it? Caroline is inexperienced, I'm out of commission, I don't want Kol in Stefan's head…"

"Why the bloody hell not?" Kol yelled indignantly

"Would you want me in your head if your life depended on it?" Damon asked heatedly

"Of course not. You'll go and play around in there and completely forget…Oh" realization dawned on him as Damon gave him a smug smile

"Can I continue? Thanks. Like I said, Kol is going nowhere near Stefan's head, Klaus can barely handle his own mind right now, I'm not sending him into Stefan's, and Elijah…"

"Elijah nothing Damon. There's nothing wrong with Elijah and you know it" Bonnie chided. 'Elijah would do it"

Damon huffed. "We could still just wait for Stefan to wake up" Bonnie gave him a look. "Okay, fine. Elijah can do it. I'll go get him' he made a wobbly move towards the door, only for a voice from downstairs to stop him in his tracks.

"Guys?" Matt's voice rang out

"Anyone here?" Elena asked

"Seems like it's time for us to leave" Damon stated wearily. "I'll speak to Elijah after Bon. Let's talk sitting arrangements"

"You and Stefan are with me" Alaric said in a voice that booked no room for argument and Damon didn't even have the strength to argue

"I'll go with the originals" Caroline stated matter-of-factly

"We know Blondie" Damon snarked. "The spot beside Klaus is all yours. Nobody would dare sit in it"

"I want to be with Stefan" Elena said from her position beside Stefan's prone form. She, Matt and Jeremy had come up a few minutes ago and she had run straight for the elder Salvatore's bed

"Ugh! Teenagers" Damon groaned. "You can cuddle all you want in the back seat Elena, no one cares. Bonnie, you're with us. I need you to check Stefan as we go…"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "And you Damon. And you. Don't forget you're still sick" she said, laughing at the look on Damon's face at the word 'sick'

"Kol, you guys take the SUV so you can fit baby gilbert and Busboy in there. Come on people. If we don't hurry up, we're going to be late and then I'll be in trouble"

"Trouble?" Elena asked, face scrunched up in confusion

"Long story" Kol spoke. "Short version, Damon's nanny would be angry if we are late and he would face consequences"

"I'm tempted to stall just to get you into trouble" Caroline stated, comfortably settling herself into one of the many plush chairs in Damon's room

"I know you'd just love to see me burn Barbie, no news there. But I also know that unless you get a move on, I will leave you here with hybrid psychosis and both of you can make your own way to Italy" Damon bit, his snark returning as rapidly as his strength was waning

Caroline's eyes blazed in anger at the name he had called Klaus two seconds before it widened in realization. "Italy? That's where we are going?" she squealed

"Hybrid psychosis? That was uncalled for mate" Klaus spoke from the doorway. Elijah stood beside him, an amused smile dancing across his lips

"We were going to Italy, and you wanted us to shop here? That's criminal Damon" Bonnie said, a look of mock horror on her face

"What's wrong with shopping here?"

Elena looked up from where she was caressing Stefan. "Damon, its Italy" she said, like those two words were supposed to answer Damon's question

Damon looked around at his suddenly crowded bedroom. "So?" he threw back to Elena

Caroline looked at him in shock. "So? What do you mean so? Damon, its Italy. You know what Bonnie; I've already thought about the number of shoes I'll get. Gucci, Prada…. Ooohhh, and a couple of louis Vuitton bags won't be so bad. What do you think Elena?"

"I wouldn't mind a couple of Jimmy Choo's, Care" she said much to Caroline's glee

"I can't even begin to imagine. I think I'll just wait till we get there. Oh IIIIIItaaallllyyyyyy" Bonnie singsonged

The men in the room looked warily at the girls who had clearly forgotten they were there as they made 'important' shopping decisions

"Riigghhtt" Damon drawled. "Now that that's settled, we should get going. Elijah, can I talk to you for a second?" he said, pulling Elijah aside as everyone else filed out of the room. It took him barely a minute to explain the situation to the eldest original, before rolling his eyes again at the still animatedly talking girls.

"This is gonna be a long day"

* * *

_Sorry for keeping so long in updating. But this story has only one more chapter left, an epilogue of sorts. I may or may not write a sequel but please review this chapter. _


End file.
